Harry Potter, Our Savior
by ZeroDegrees
Summary: After the events of Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is sick and tired of always defending. With a new resolve, he sets out on his journey. Harry Ginny & Ron Hermione
1. Summer

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
Chapter 1 - Summer  
  
Harry Potter - a green-eyed, raven-haired boy - looked out into the dark sky devoid of any owls and let out a sigh of exasperation. It had only been two days since his return to number 3 Privet Drive, and he was already bored out of his mind. He could only think of those terrible things that had happened just this year.  
'Sirius.' Those memories were still to painful. It felt like he had just met him yesterday and already he was gone. forever. Even those terrible memories of Cedric still haunted him. People told him it wasn't his fault, and he knew it wasn't; but Cedric and Sirius were both supposed to still be alive. There was only one person to be blamed for all of this: Tom Marvolo Riddle; also known as He-who-must-not-be-named to all those cowards who didn't dare say his name.  
Revenge and anger. Those were the two things going through Harry's mind. Anger at himself for not learning Occlumency like Dumbledore had asked (though Snape didn't make it any easier for him) and at Voldemort for taking away his only remaining semblance of true family. 'That's not true,' he thought, 'I've still got Remus.' He wanted revenge, and he would get it if it was the last thing he ever did.  
He ran his hands through his hair and sighed again. 'I seem to be doing that a lot lately,' he thought. He got up and walked over to the cracked mirror on the wall. A tall, pale, skinny kid looked back at him. No, not a kid; a man. He was nearly 5'10" (he had grown over the last year) and was as thin as a stick. 'I definitely need to put on some muscle and weight,' he thought. 'I'm going to become strong. stronger than Voldemort, stronger than Dumbledore, stronger than both of them combined. The prophecy said either be a murderer or be murdered. I think I'd choose the first any day.'  
With that thought, he crawled back into bed hoping to get at least a few hours of rest before being woken by horrid, heart-wrenching nightmares.  
  
After around five hours of sleep - the most he had for over a month - he got up and went down to cook breakfast for the Dursleys. They hadn't pestered him at all this summer - probably out of fear of Mad-Eye Moody - but he figured that he had better stay on their good side anyway. After grabbing a piece of bacon and a glass of orange juice for himself, he wore a pair of shorts and old, torn running sneakers and went out to run. He figured he would get into at least decent physical fitness before anything else. He couldn't do with collapsing during a Death Eater fight. After running for nearly an hour, he found a local gym that was about seven kilometers from his home. With some of the money that he had exchanged into pounds from his Gringotts account, he signed up for a membership and got started on working out right away. He didn't really know what to do, so a trainer came and helped him out.  
Harry told the trainer that he didn't really care for muscle mass, he just wanted to be able to run faster, be stronger, and last longer than he could already. The trainer seemed to understand and helped him out right away. After a good two hours, Harry lightly jogged back home and ran up and took a shower before the Dursleys could ask where he went. He dressed and locked himself in his room.  
Now, he started studying his magic. He put in orders from Flourish & Blotts for new books on nearly every fighting book available: books on strategy, dueling, curses, hexes, dark arts, charms, advanced healing, apparition, elemental powers, and anything he thought would be interesting. He even ordered a simple book on Animagi, though he knew that one would be difficult. Still, it would take a few days for all of his books to come in so he decided to do a little bit of self-study on magic.  
After skimming over his previous five years of books, he decided to become a researcher of sorts. 'Magic had to be discovered. It couldn't have always been there, and for that matter, wands had to be made by wizards; they didn't just pop out of the ground. So, obviously, people did magic before the inventions of wands; but how? Like accidental magic? Yes, but more controlled.' With those theories, he decided to re-discover magic.  
He started with meditating. Accidental magic always happened when he had strong emotions. He didn't really care about the ministry's ban on underage wizardry anymore since he decided he was too important for the light side to lose. He focused on one emotion. anger. and called his invisibility cloak to him. At first, it did nothing; but then, it started twitching. With his brow furrowed, he concentrated even more at the anger he felt towards the unfairness of his life and all at once, the cloak flew at him with such force that it knocked the wind out of him along with a feeling like butterflies were somewhere near his chest. 'That's strange,' he thought. He started meditating again and focused on the area of his chest where he got that weird feeling. He sat like that for hours at a time. He finally found what it was. That ticklish-feeling was the core of his magical power. He had found it! 'So, a wand is simply a channel for your core power!'  
Over the next few days, he continued to go the gym and study his core. It was much bigger than he thought. 'So, I do have potential. Dumbledore wasn't completely lying when he hinted that I was powerful. Hopefully I'm powerful enough.'  
After getting his books from the book store, he continued his routine everyday for nearly four weeks without break. He was getting extremely powerful and he was sure that he could give even Dumbledore a run for his money without his wand. The only things circulating on his mind were: gain power, get stronger, Ginny Weasley, study more, run faster, Ginny Weasley, obtain knowledge, Ginny Weasley, etc. 'How did Ginny get in there? Oh, well, she is quite the stunner. Too bad she's going out with Dean.'  
He was sending letter to the Order every three days so that they didn't come and harm the Dursleys. He also started writing Ginny, mostly because he was thinking of her so much. He started with simple letters until they warmed up to each other and started sharing things with each other such as the nightmares that he had and the nightmares that Ginny still had about the Chamber of Secrets.  
His birthday was fast approaching and he felt he still had much to do. He had only started looking into Animagi and he still hadn't even started studying Elemental powers, which he couldn't wait to try. He had grown to almost 6'0" and had a orange-brownish tan that went well with his green eyes which seemed to sparkle with more knowledge and power than they ever used to. His messy black hair had become slightly longer going down to his neck and framing his well defined-face. He no longer had the skinny- lost boy look; instead, he looked like a thin yet muscular man who any hot- blooded woman would have a hard time not falling head-over-heels for (though his clothes could definitely have used some improvement).  
  
On the night of his birthday, he quit his exercises early and went to bed at only 10:30. Of course, he ended up waking at 11:59 to taps on his window coming from a few owls that were floating outside of his window. He walked over and opened the window to let the birds into his room. He opened Pig's letter first so that he could send him off without much causing too much of a racket; though the fluff-ball was already zooming around his room in happiness. Harry opened the letter and read:  
  
Hiya Harry!  
Happy Birthday! Your gift is attached to Errol. How have you been? Don't let the muggles get you down, eh? And what happened to Sirius wasn't your fault, so don't feel so bad about it. Guess, what? Hermione is coming to the Burrow next week! Isn't that great? Oh, and I got 16 O.W.L.s! That's better than Percy did! And why have you and Ginny been writing to each other so much lately? There better not be anything going one, or else. Anyway, mum and dad say we'll pick you up around three days before going to school so that we can go to Diagon Alley, so just hold tight, k? -Ron  
  
Attached to Errol was a box filled with a cake and sweets from Mrs. Weasley, a new Chudley Cannons poster from Ron, and a box that had the fancy label: "WWW". Inside the box were all the latest Weasley's Wizard Wheezes along with a note.  
  
Hello partner,  
That's right, partner! Because of your healthy donation to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, you have been given 25% ownership of the company. Use these latest Wheezes wisely! -Gred & Forge Co-owners of WWW  
  
'These will definitely be useful on Dudley,' Harry thought. The next present he opened was from Hermoine. Other than a note saying "Happy Birthday" and the normal chatter, there wasn't much. She also gave him a wizarding watch that had different planets aligned in circular patterns to tell the time. Hagrid had also sent him some rock cakes (which Harry didn't touch) and a beautifully carved bow and quiver with arrows. Harry really liked these and swore to start practicing from tomorrow. Next, and surprisingly, he opened a present from Dumbledore. It was a sword. It looked exactly like Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Chamber of Secrets except for the fact that it had the name "Harry Potter" inscribed along the side. Harry swung it around a few times and saw that the weight and grip fit him perfectly. Finally, he opened a present from Ginny. She had gotten him a very expensive-looking pendant. It was of a Phoenix with its wings spread surrounded by two fighting Griffins. The Phoenix had a green emerald for an eye and all-in-all, the pendant looked really special. 'Wow, Ginny,' was all Harry could think until another, important-looking owl poked him in the finger. He opened the official looking letter that it held and read:  
  
To: Mr. Harry Potter From: The Ministry of Magic Education Department  
  
I am pleased to report that your OWL scores have arrived. Any misunderstandings can be taken care of at the head office in the Ministry of Magic.  
  
Grading Scale:  
  
Outstanding: 3 OWLs; Exceeds Expectations: 2 OWLs; Acceptable: 1 OWL; Anything lower means you did not pass that subject.  
  
Scores:  
  
Astronomy - Theory: Outstanding; Practical: Exceeds  
  
Expectations (disturbance during exam taken into account)  
  
Charms - Theory: Outstanding; Practical: Outstanding  
  
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Theory: Outstanding*; Practical: Outstanding*  
  
Divination - Theory: Acceptable; Practical: Troll.  
  
History of Magic - Acceptable  
  
Potions - Theory: Outstanding; Practical: Outstanding*  
  
Transfiguration - Theory: Outstanding*; Practical: Outstanding*  
  
Total OWLs:  
  
34  
  
Having a * next to the grade means that you have the highest score in the history of Hogwarts.  
  
Congratualtions, The Ministry of Magic  
  
'34 OWLs? I never in my dreams hoped to get that high!' With that thought he ripped open the last envelope that had the Hogwarts crest on it. It was a letter from Dumbledore asking him to take the position of Prefect as he rightfully deserved it last year. The letter also asked him to become the new Quidditch Captain since all of the old players were gone. This really angered him. He wrote replies to all of his friends and finally wrote a reply telling Dumbledore that he still had his dignity and if he deserved the Prefect position last year then he should have gotten it last year, not this year; however, Harry did accept the Quidditch Captain position.  
Finally done with that and with a last 'Happy Birthday, Harry!' he went to sleep, not expecting what was to happen next. 


	2. Dream

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
Chapter 2 - Dream  
  
*3,074 years ago  
  
A tall, aged man walked over the cliff using his walking stick for support. Upon closer inspection an outsider (perhaps if that outsider was a wizard during that time) would have noticed that the walking stick was none other than a staff.  
It was a beautiful staff made of wood that was almost as black as night itself. In fact, on this night, the staff could barely be seen; except for the gleaming emerald clasped in the beak of the royal phoenix carved on top of the staff. There were also beautiful elvish runes along the length of the staff that no one but the elves (not house elves, of course) and the old man holding the staff could read.  
Back to the old man. He had thinning yet gleaming white hair and wore a rich, thick, purple robe that dragged behind him on the ground; making him look like nothing less than aristocracy. He wore a shiny, metal helmet on his head that covered most of his balding head and a black, leather gauntlet that seemed to absorb all the light in its vicinity. The man walked with a weariness that carried to his beautiful, blue eyes and looked sadder than he had in over eight-thousand years; that is to say since the day he was born, which happened to be July 31st.  
He finally reached the top of a cliff overlooking the castle of Camelot: his home for the past fifty years. He stood in between two large, marble stones and concentrated. After some time, there was a crackling of pure energy which would have struck fear to the bravest stoutest hearts of that time. The old wizard screamed in a booming voice: "Morgana! Where are you, witch! Come here and face me today. Today is as good of a day as any! Today is the day my rule comes to an end, so why don't you come and end it!" With a blinding flash, a woman appeared. She had beautiful blonde hair and eyes so sharp that they would have turned many oriental women green with envy. She was young, far too young to have anything to do with such an old and weary looking man. The goodness seemed to pour off of her dazzlingly white dress and creamy-golden skin and warm the hearts of any creatures nearby; however, the old man knew better. He knew that this beautiful, good woman - no, witch - had a heart as black as tar. She was evil; pure, unadulterated evil. He could feel it in her power, he could feel it in her presence, heck, he could even feel her evil presence by simply scanning the universe. It was like a black hole in a vast universe; always growing, always getting blacker. "What do you want, Merlin?" she said in a melodious, beautiful voice that would make any fair knight swoon. "Do you want to die so quickly, old man?" "It is time for our final confrontation. My reign will end tonight - I know it - but I will take you down with me. Let us fight then." With that he sent his beautiful staff to another dimension so that he could hold it once again after his death. "We have no use for these silly weapons. We are both stronger than to live off of channels for our powers. Why, then, should we bother?" Morgana LeFay, as the woman was called, also threw her beautiful white staff to the side - though she did not send it to the other dimension as she was confident she would win - and prepared herself. In a flash, both Merlin and Morgana were fighting. Curse after curse was sent that fateful night and not one hit its mark. They fought and they fought for hours on end, until finally, age had met its match; for what even the greatest of us don't want to necessarily admit is that age catches up with everyone. After seven hours of harsh dueling, physical battle, and deceit, Morgana finally had Merlin cornered. She could take his life away at any moment and be done with him forever. However, all of a sudden, Merlin went rigid, his eyes becoming glazed over and his fighting stance relaxed. Morgana was a great witch - not good, but great - and she knew a prophecy when she saw one and this was definitely one. All of a sudden, Merlin spoke in a voice full of life but still rigid as ice:  
  
"There will be one and only one true Great Power. He will be known as the heir of Merlin. He shall be ten times more powerful than the most powerful mage in existence and alone, all alone, he will bring balance to the universe. Whether he succeeds in accomplishing this balance or not will be determined by his own resolve and those who love him. There will be one and only one true Great Power and all the world will hail him their Lord."  
  
With that, Merlin snapped back into reality and seemed to understand what he just said. He flicked his fingers at Morgana - who was staring bug-eyed at Merlin - which emitted a spark of magic, and reared his head back and let out a hearty laugh. Morgana was confused. 'What was that spark of magic? Oh, well, might as well get rid of the old fool now.' And with that, she sealed the great Merlin into a stone while he just stood there laughing his head off like a hyena. Then, she sent him into the cave of the dragon, the cave where Merlin had told her all magical knowledge was originally stored. It seemed like just yesterday when she slept in Merlin's bed.  
  
*"So, Merlin, all magic and knowledge is stored here?" "Yes, indeed, Morgana." "War?" inquired Morgana. "And Peace," Merlin said in a weary voice. "Light?" she inquired again. "And Dark," Merlin replied in a weaker voice. "Fire?" she once again asked.  
  
"And Water," he answered in a voice barely above a whisper. "Love?" she asked in an annoyingly sweet voice. "Above all else, Morgana, yes, love. Always, always love," he answered in a voice that seemed older than time itself.*  
  
"Old men are never good in bed," she said before rearing her own head and letting out a howl of laughter. However, she was soon interrupted as she felt a pain from where that spark of magic had hit her. 'Bastard!' was the last thought she had before she burned into nothing more than ashes.  
  
King Arthur watched from his castle as his mentor and closest advisor fought to his death. He grieved silently for his lost friend and the return of war to his land. But his spirits were still high because of the prophecy he heard above the howling winds. He had his best scribes write it down and keep them in hundreds of different documents. This was one message that the human race could not afford to lose. But that is what exactly happened to them. The "muggles" separated with the wizards and witches in fear of their power. They battled with each other - muggle machinery, inventions, and numbers giving them almost equal footing with the witches and wizards. The texts were kept by certain muggle families who were related to the royal family lineage, but, over the ages, forgot their true heritage. The documents were judged as a joke or in the rare cases that they were found by wizards, were considered fake. Over thousands of years, all but one copy was lost. That of the great lineage of King Uther Pendragon and his son King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot: the family Evans. 


	3. Birthday

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
Chapter 3 - Birthday  
  
Harry Potter woke up on the morning of his birthday much later than usual. Normally, his aunt would be trying to bash the door in while ranting and raving about how he was a useless waste of space and how he should get off his bum and do something worthwhile like clean the house or cook the food. Instead, Harry Potter woke up lazily; truly enjoying the warm rays of sunlight filtering through his torn window-screen. He felt around his chest and grabbed the pendant he had gotten from Ginny for his birthday and felt a warm tingle go up his entire body. Just thinking of her made him want to jump on the roof and scream to the world that he loved her. 'I love her? Wow, I think I'm going way too fast. but, maybe. no, that can't be love. You have to know people really well for a long time to know whether or not you love them. But, just maybe I do.'  
With that happy thought, Harry got up and began his daily meditation exercises and practiced his Occlumency (which he happened to be getting very good at). He also started playing with Legilimency by trying to read the Dursley's minds. He was becoming accomplished at both quite quickly. He then continued his animagus exercises by studying the theories and processes described in the book he had bought (it would still take a few more days to find out what creature he was). He started practicing basic elemental exercises, which he found were much easier than he previously expected. It seemed that he had a knack for all of them: fire, water, air, earth, ice, and lightning. He then spent a few hours reviewing all of the books that he bought and filling out order forms for newer, more advanced books; he was now well past NEWT levels and was closing in on advanced auror studies. He then practiced with his sword and bow and arrow which he had been learning how to use from a book on physical combat. He also learned many other forms of physical battle from that book such as: Ju Jitsu, Karate, Boxing, and almost every other fighting style he had ever heard of. 'It would be quite funny if Voldemort was defeated by mere muggle fighting techniques,' Harry thought as he let out a hearty laugh. Later, he ran to the gym and had a refreshing workout. After his tiring day, he came down to have dinner with his "wonderful and loving" family. They seemed to have plucked up some courage since the beginning of the summer since they hadn't seen any Order members and reverted to giving Harry only cheese and a stale slice of bread. Harry didn't care much though, he had his own supply of "health food" stored in his room that he bought from the store under the gym. He finished quickly and was about to go up, when Aunt Petunia stopped him with a harsh whisper. "There's a box up in your room that's for your birthday. Close your windows and doors before opening it. We don't want people to see your freakiness." "Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry said in monotone not showing his surprise that his aunt was giving him something. One thing he had noticed over the years was that nothing - absolutely nothing - ever seemed to surprise either Dumbledore or Voldemort. As such, he decided that he was also going to have to show that level of maturity and understanding and since that day, Harry had not let anything get the best of him. He was often surprised on the inside, but never let it show. He snuck up to his room quietly and eyed the old box next to his bed suspiciously before opening it. After clearing the puff of dust that was emitted from the opening of the box he found books, pictures, letters, and a diary that had the name "Lily Evans" etched on it with a gold outline. Harry shakily picked it up and opened it to the first page. It read:  
  
The Private Diary of Lily Elizabeth Evans. All information in this book is to be held in utmost secrecy.  
  
Harry flipped the page.  
  
July 31, 1970 Dear Diary,  
You won't believe what happened today! I'm a witch! Can you believe it? It's not a joke, I promise. I was invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry by some famous wizard named Albus Dumbledore. Oh my God! I'm so excited. Term starts September 1st. Mum and dad are talking about letting me go, but I know that if they want to keep me happy they'll let me go. I think Petunia is jealous though. Can't blame her, really. I feel sorry that she's 'gonna be left out, but I can't really do anything about that. Plus, she's always out with that brute Dursley. Stupid, beefy jerk who gets on everyone's cases and picks on the poor, helpless kids. I don't know what she sees in him. Anyways, she'll be going back to Stonehall next year, while I'll be at Hogwarts! I can't wait to meet all the new people and make a bunch of friends. I think I'm 'gonna try to be the smartest witch there. I know I can if I try, though I'm sure the kids who have wizards in their families will have an advantage. Love, Lily.  
  
Harry felt a few tears of happiness drip out of his eyes. He could almost see his eleven-year-old, red-haired, green-eyed mother jumping up and down as she managed to scribble in a very neat handwriting this entry in the diary. Harry continued to read. He read the entire diary from when she met her best friend Margaret Bolt, or "Margie" as she called her. He read about her meeting with "that despicable James Potter and his rowdy little crew." He read about her getting the highest OWLs in her year. He read about her falling in love with "that insufferable prat" who was his father. He read about her first kiss. He read about her first date. He read about her graduating top of the class with the most NEWTs in her year. He read about her and James getting inducted into the Order (though she left that part hazy as the diary might have gotten into enemy hands). He read anything and everything he could about her and, in the end, knew - really knew - what his real mother was like. Oddly enough, Lily's last entry was only two weeks before her death and ended on the last page of the book saying:  
  
Dear Diary,  
Thank you for always being there for me when I needed to confide in you. Don't feel bad, but I no longer need you. I have my husband, James; my son, Harry; and the little baby girl in my stomach. All that I've ever wanted in my life is fulfilled. Thank you. And for the last time, Love, Lily.  
  
Tears dripped from Harry's eyes, but he wouldn't let them flow. 'No,' he thought, 'I'm strong now. I can't cry. I can't let the world down.' But right then, he broke down completely. The only thought on his mind was: 'I was going to have a little sister.' He cried and cried. And while he cried he tried to imagine his little sister. What would she look like? Would she have black hair? Or red hair? Green eyes? Or brown eyes, like his father's? Would she be pretty? Would she be nice? Would he protect her? 'Yes, no matter what I would have protected her,' he thought. In a rush all of the revenge and anger he had pent up inside of him wracked his mind with more ferocity than ever before. 'Revenge. Voldemort, I swear on my life, on my little sister's soul, I will get my revenge!' Harry realized that he was getting out of control and started his meditating and Occlumency exercises in order to re-strengthen the shields around his mind.  
After calming down a bit, he flipped through the diary again and looked at the last page with an expression of misery and sorrow. That is until he saw a loose seam on the inside-side of the book's cover. He loosened the seam a bit more and felt inside. To his surprise - though he didn't show it - he found an old piece of parchment. The paper looked so old that he thought someone could sneeze and it would be destroyed. He opened it, almost reverently, and began to read. It was in an ancient language close to Latin that he didn't know, but he was able to read it nonetheless. It said:  
  
Copy #131 of Merlin's Final Prophecy to the most royal line of Evans.  
  
By the orders of His Highness King Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot, Son of the great Uther Pendragon, a copy of Merlin's last prophecy is placed in the care of the most royal line of Evans to Sir Joseph Evans, son of Merlin the Great, son of Morgana LeFay, and nephew of King Arthur Pendragon himself. On his dying day, the great Sorcerer Merlin prophesized with witness by King Arthur himself, these words:  
  
"There will be one and only one true Great Power. He will be known as the heir of Merlin. He shall be ten times more powerful than the most powerful mage in existence and alone, all alone, he will bring balance to the universe. Whether he succeeds in accomplishing this balance or not will be determined by his own resolve and those who love him. There will be one and only one true Great Power and all the world will hail him their Lord."  
  
May this official document be proof that the Great Merlin himself did indeed make this prophecy and that in years to come in the face of evil, it may come true.  
  
The Honorary Court of King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot and his noble Knights of the Round Table.  
  
Once again, although Harry didn't show it, he was completely blown away. Not only was he related to Merlin, the evil Morgana, and King Arthur; but his direct ancestor was also one of the Knights of the Round Table. He didn't know which one was cooler and indeed, he had a difficult time choosing. 'Hmmm. I wonder if this "Great Power" is me. Good chance it is, knowing my luck. But then again, I'll need all the luck I can get,' Harry thought.  
All of a sudden, Harry heard a feminine cry of rage and "Bastard!" before he thought he heard what sounded like someone being burned to ashes. 'Weird,' he thought as he looked out of his window. 'I guess I better get some sleep.' And with that, Harry Potter was fast asleep wondering whether it was natural to increase magical strength as quickly as he was doing now. 


	4. History

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
A.N.: Dear Readers, A few people said that they didn't understand the ending of the previous chapter. If you remember what happens in Chapter 2, then you may recognize where that came from. However, HOW Harry hears the feminine voice is explained in this chapter; and if you still don't get it, I'll tell you at the end of this chapter.  
  
-PotterPower.  
  
Chapter 4 - History  
  
*3,063 years ago  
  
Inside of the already legendary cave of the dragon was an opaque stone. Not that anyone knew of the existence of the cave or the stone, however; after all, Morgana didn't want Merlin to be accidentally freed, so she sealed the cave so that only she or someone with her magical signature could open it. However, that could never happen as she was killed soon after casting her "evil magicks," as the King Arthur had called them.  
If a person looked closely at the opaque stone, he could almost see an outline - just a shadow, nothing more - of a man. An old, tall, bearded man to be exact. However, as no person could go inside of the cave, no one could see that outline. But there were rumors, and beliefs. As the records of the great King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot faded from existence, so did the knowledge of what had truly happened that fateful night just eleven years ago. After, Morgana had frozen Merlin into stone and had been killed, the country broke out into war. King Arthur defended his title on the throne against his own illegitimate son, whom he had with his half- sister Morgana LeFay, Mordred. Mordred was slain, but the noble King Arthur did also take damage unto himself. He died just a week later of blood loss.  
After this loss, the country was in shambles: without a king, either good or evil; without remaining nobility, as most of the Knights had died in the search for the Holy Grail; and without trust from the people in any one leader. Princes and Knights tried and tried with all of their might to live up to the name King Arthur and become the beacon of light for all of those who wanted a brave and noble leader, but it was not to be.  
Just as the remainder of Camelot - along with all of England - was degenerating, the texts which King Arthur had commanded to be written were also lost. Except for a few, but even those few refused to believe in some "Great Power" of which they knew nothing. If they did believe the verity of the document, they hoped that their savior would come soon, but once again, it was not to be.  
The Dark Ages fell and no one cared anymore. No one, that is, except for the noble line Evans. Through the generations, they passed down the official documents of King Arthur, himself, and pledged their allegiance to what once was.  
The old man in the cave, however, was dismissed as rumor by all. Nothing more than wives-tales. They all said, "No one can live in a stone. They will die within the hour. And no such magics exist." For this was the time when magicians and sorcerers separated themselves from the non- magics, or, as you and I know them, muggles. But these rumors became hope. This hope became belief. And this belief became what people thought was religion.  
However, the old man was still there; for you and I, both, know better than to underestimate the most famous magician the world has ever known. He rested for years, gaining back his energy with meditation and concentration. He absorbed energy from mountains, birds, butterflies, anything and everything that had life to it, he fed off of. Not like a leech, but he also gave back life and love to those that he fed off of. After more than twenty centuries, he broke free. He was back to his old self again and had as much power, if not more, than what he did in his prime.  
"Ahh." came his croaky voice, "I'm finally out. I best get started on finding a way out of this damned cave."  
And with that, he set to work. Over the next year, Merlin tried every spell or incantation that came to his head and not once did he even get close to breaking free. He knew what spell Morgana used and he knew that there was no breaking free, but he didn't let that get him down. He decided that he was going to wait. just wait for that "Great Power" that he prophesized to come. And that is exactly what he did.  
For about three millennia, he sat and meditated, nothing else. The average person would probably be bored to death, but not Merlin. No, instead, he searched and scanned through the lives of every single person that had ever passed the realm of the living in middle-earth. He protected them in unnoticeable ways. He would send a police-man to where a woman was getting robbed. He would make it rain in an area where he knew a fire would start. He would fill the fuel in an aircraft that he knew the worker forgot to fill. He saved people, in tiny, inconspicuous ways, without even leaving his cave. All the while, he sat, meditated, and searched for his beloved "Great Power." All of that, until one day, a day that Merlin would never doubt was the best day of his life, when a young jet-black-haired, green-eyed boy was born. His name was Harry James Potter, born to James Henry Potter and Lily Evans Potter. In him, Merlin sensed something odd. Something that he did not sense in even the four famous founders of Hogwarts. He sensed a combination of feelings and abilities that never existed in any being before as they clashed so violently that any other being would have been killed by the imbalance. This boy had power, but no greed; he had ability, but no ambition to use it; he had looks, but no feeling to take advantage of it; he had reason to brag, yet he had no want to; he had opportunities for vengeance, but never took them. This boy was different in every way. He was so pure, that even Merlin felt dirty just seeing his life. But something went wrong; terribly wrong. Merlin watched Voldemort kill both of Harry's parents and try to kill Harry, but noticed that nothing really happened to Harry except for the connection that was formed. Merlin watched as Harry grew up a cursed life. He saw how he worked, no slaved, at everything. He saw how he got punished if he made as much of as a single mistake. He saw everything up until the summer of his sixteenth birthday when he felt, again, that sense of power and internal clashing that drew him to the boy in the first place and he knew. Merlin knew that Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, the Golden Boy, was his "Great Power." He sighed and thought to himself, 'Why him? He has lived such a difficult life and this will only make it more difficult. That idiot headmaster Dumbledore. How could he subject Harry to all of this, and then drop another bomb and tell him of the prophecy and actually ask for forgiveness? If I could get my hands on his filthy little neck, I would rip it off! And those treacherous little friends of his; what were their names again? Oh, yes, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. How dare they even look at him with straight-faces. They betrayed him so much and he doesn't even know yet. Well, I'll let him know, or my name isn't Merlin. But that girl, Virginia. She seems nice. And, what's this? Hmmm. how odd. She loves him. What a coincidence!' With the anger driven out of his system by the happiness of this revelation, he began to do what he was meant to do. The time of the Protector Merlin was over. For the first time in over eight-thousand years, there would be a new protector of the world. Merlin sat down and began to chant. After what seemed like days, he began to glow and shimmer. His magic and knowledge were leaving him to go to their new master. Merlin knew that Harry didn't need his power - after all, Harry was 100 times stronger than he was - but he felt that he wanted to show Harry his love and loyalty towards him, so he did it anyway. Finally, on the night after Harry's birthday, he was done. He was dying. As his last act, Merlin laid down on his self-made bed and watched one of his favorite memories in his penseive with full volume. He watched as Morgana realized what the spark of magic was and screamed "Bastard!" at Merlin. However, the scream was so loud that everyone within a ten-thousand kilometer radius could hear it. At this, Merlin let out a chuckle and rested his head. At 11:59 p.m., the exact time that Harry Potter was born July 31st 16 years ago, Merlin - the world's most famous (until now) protector - died.  
  
A.N.: Dear Readers,  
Now you know that the feminine scream of "Bastard!" that Harry hears before going to sleep is the one that Merlin plays right before his death. I hope you liked it. The story should get more interesting from now.  
  
-PotterPower. 


	5. Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
Chapter 5 - Diagon Alley  
  
Harry Potter woke up on August 1st feeling extremely content. He had dreamt about Ginny and then had some strange dream about some old man or the other. He got up and stretched looking out into the clear sky until a thought hit him: 'Why the HELL am I dreaming about random old men?!' And then it hit him. He fell to the floor in pain as memories rushed through his brain like a movie on fast forward times a thousand. Memories that weren't his. He felt like all he could see was a blur of light, though he knew there was something beneath all of the light. But he couldn't concentrate on that; he had a pounding headache that was getting worse by the minute. Also, the flashes seemed to be only going faster and faster as he came closer and closer to unconsciousness.  
All of a sudden, all of the flashes cleared up. And he knew. He knew about Merlin's birth. He knew of King Arthur, his court, and his Knights. He knew of Morgana; his ancestor, Sir Joseph Evans; and of Mordred, Merlin and Morgana's son. He knew that he was related to Godric Gryffindor himself from his father's side. He knew every little aspect of every single person's life from the day that Merlin freed himself. He now even knew of Ron and Hermione's betrayal; and he knew that Merlin had set up a way that they would "accidentally" let their betrayal slip to him. He even knew of just how much Ginny loved him. This bit raised his spirits more than anything else. He knew, for sure, that he was the "Great Power." But most importantly, he knew whose memories these were and he knew what he was chosen to do. He was now aware of what he had to do. He had to become the world's new Protector.  
Merlin's power had boosted Harry a good bit. This power combined with the immense power that Harry already had and the potential that Harry still hadn't realeased was enough that Harry could beat Voldemort and Dumbledore combined without even getting up. 'Where's the challenge in that?' Harry thought, 'Oh, well, I guess I will just play around with them.' Even with all of the power Merlin had given Harry, he felt no different. In all reality, it wasn't that much in proportion to his own but he felt touched that someone who didn't really know him personally would give him all of his life energy.  
'Ha!' thought Harry, 'let's see how many people I am a descendent to now.' He started to count on his finger, 'Godric Gryffindor, through my father; Merlin, through the prophecy; Salazaar Slytherin, through Voldemort; and Sir Joseph Evans, Morgana LeFay, and King Arthur Pendragon, through his mother. Not a bad list.'  
With that, Harry decided following Dumbledore was stupid. Professor Dumbledore had always meant well - definitely never ill - but he was getting old. His decisions now seemed to have worse consequences and he seemed to be losing his touch. 'Professor Dumbledore's time is up. He has done his duty to the wizarding world. I think he deserves some rest and relaxation.' With that thought and the intention to tell the old headmaster exactly that at Hogwarts, Harry decided he was going to go to Diagon Alley today.  
Harry went to the gym, completed his daily workout routine, came back home (if he could call it that), and started to practice his elemental abilities. He was now able to easily call upon any of the elementals and bend them to his will. However, he didn't treat them as his servants, instead he asked the wind to lift him, or he asked the fire to start, or he asked the thunder to strike; and, surprisingly, they all, not only obliged, but did it happily.  
Finally, he got to the part of his training that he had been waiting for for some time now. He began his animagus training. He felt that he knew the transformation process and had studied the initial spell quite well enough to perform it perfectly the first time wandlessly. After all, if he messed up, he would be stuck mid-transformation and that would get him into a load of trouble with the Ministry - not that he really cared. With a swish of his hand, he performed the trick and started concentration on bending his bones. He didn't know what animagus form he would take yet - that was what this spell was for, after all - so he just had to concentrate on allowing his body to shift without restriction. After some time, he thought that maybe he didn't have the potential to become an animagus; but then he felt a stab of pain in his gut and a wrenching feeling all over his body. He looked into the mirror and saw that he was a phoenix. 'Wow.' he thought, 'I thought animagi couldn't be phoenixes.' But the surprise didn't end there. He started to transform again, but not into a person. Instead, he transformed into a griffin; and then a basilisk; and then a thestral; and then a unicorn. This process continued until Harry could no longer name any animals that he hadn't become. Some forms made him laugh: like his monkey form. Now that was something he promised he would never transform into, unless he really needed to.  
After successfully casting the spell and unsuccessfully trying to get over the surprise of being a "multi-magus" as he dubbed it (after all the book had said that there was never a person who had ever had more than one form and his memories from Merlin had told him the same thing), he practiced for about an hour on becoming a phoenix. He needed to be able to transform at a whim, not randomly with the use of a spell. He didn't get very far as he was looking forward to living on his own in Diagon Alley for nearly a month on his own.  
Soon after, he packed his trunk (after putting an enlargement charm on it because he couldn't fit all of his books) and shrunk it. He also shrunk his Firebolt. He decided that instead of using it, he was going to think of it as a memorial to Sirius. He had gotten over his godfather's death (especially since he now knew it wasn't his fault) but he felt that this last tribute was necessary. He was just going to make his own broom; after all, he had all of the memories of everyone who had ever made a broom so he knew all of the right steps.  
Right when he was about to go down and tell his Uncle Vernon that he was leaving, he heard a peck on the door. It was Pig, Ron's owl and another owl that he recognized as Hermione's new owl, Newton. He walked over to the window, opened it, and allowed Pig to fly in and do the annoying victory dance that the little owl always did when it was successful in delivering its assigned letters. Harry grabbed the letter and opened the letter to see Ginny's beautiful handwriting flecked with little wet spots.  
  
Dear Harry,  
How are you? I hope those idiot relatives of yours aren't treating you too badly. I'm so angry at Ron and Hermione. They're treating me like I don't exist and I don't know why. Also, Dean broke up with me. It wasn't that serious or anything, but it still makes me feel bad. He told me that he just wanted to be with Lavender, but she was with someone else so he had to maker her jealous. Now that she's all good and jealous, she wants to be with Dean and so he dumped me. I feel so terrible. I can't believe he used me like that. That idiot. Anyway, look at me, dumping all of my problems on you like that. I shouldn't do that, you have enough problems on your own. Sorry. Write back whenever you can. You're the only one that isn't ignoring me.  
  
Love, Ginny  
  
Harry was so angry. Not at the fact that Hermione had lied to him (she had told him that she was in Italy with her parents, because he already knew of that due to Merlin's memories) but that she and Ron would treat Ginny so badly. He was also totally peeved at Dean. How dare he treat Ginny like that? Who was he to use her? 'Oh, well, I'll show him when I see him again,' thought Harry.  
Harry knew that this was the kind of time that Ginny needed someone, so that's exactly what Harry did. He supported Ginny. He wrote her back the most supportive and loving letter he could think of writing that she was better than Dean anyway and that Ron and Hermione are just being pricks. He also told her that he was going to stay at the Leaky Cauldron and not to tell anyone that. He signed: "Love, Harry," and hoped that she would understand that he really did love her. He had total trust in her, and as such, he told her of how he had a little sister and the things about his mother and father. He didn't tell her the things about him training and him becoming really powerful now; he wanted that to be kept secret until they met privately. He finally finished and, after giving Pig an owl treat, sent him off with - what Harry hoped - was a kind and understanding reply.  
Then he picked up the note that Newton was holding. As soon as he saw Hermione's handwriting, he knew what it was. He opened it, read it, and confirmed his suspicions (to be totally truthful, he already knew everything that was in the letter). Hermione and Ron had been inducted into the Order a little while after the Ministry incident when Sirius died. They had been ordered to keep tabs on Harry and make sure that he didn't get into too much trouble and this was one of their weekly letters telling Dumbledore that they had been talking to him and that he was fine. 'Funny,' Harry thought, 'I don't remember getting any letters from them.' If Harry was still the same as he was last year, he would have been enraged that Ron and Hermione, who had done nothing compared to him, got front row seats to see and hear everything Voldemort was doing while he was supposed to wait until one of the Order members deigned it the right time for him to hear the information. Harry was the one who had faced Voldemort more times than anyone in the Order, even Dumbledore; he was the one who killed a basilisk at the age of twelve with nothing but a sword; he was the one who taught made Dumbledore's Army what it is; and he was the one and only person who could defeat Voldemort anyway. If anyone deserved to know, it should have been him. But that's not how Harry is because he changed a lot from last year. Instead of being mad, he realized that this was just another one of Dumbledore's stupid decisions and that Ron and Hermione had betrayed his friendship and trust. It was as simple as that, and to him, that was an unforgivable betrayal.  
Tossing the letter aside, he picked up his packed bags again and headed downstairs. He told his aunt that he was leaving and dropped a brown bag onto the counter. When his aunt gave him a questioning look, he said: "This is some money for taking care of me since I was a baby. I hope you have a nice life as you'll probably never be seeing me again. If you do want to see me again, you can find me at Godric's Hollow. I'll be rebuilding my parent's old summer vacation-house." He gave her a smile and added, "Thanks for giving me my mother's stuff, Aunt Petunia." With that, he strode out of the house into the back yard and asked the wind to take him away. He simply put on his invisibility cloak - though he really didn't need it - and enjoyed the ride.  
  
About half-an-hour later, he arrived in the alleyway in front of the Leaky Cauldron. He looked left and right and then carefully but purposefully strode over to the entrance of the grubby little pub. He entered and greeted Tom, who, much to his surprise (though, once again, he didn't show it) didn't look too happy to see him.  
"Why, hello Mr. Potter. How are you, today?"  
"I'm doing well Tom and please call me Harry. We've known each other for all of this time and you're still calling me Mr. Potter. Makes me feel old."  
"Well, Harry. What can I do for you?"  
"Could I just get the best room available, Tom?"  
"Sure, Harry, but do you mind me asking what you're doing here?"  
At this, Harry's face darkened. 'Just like Dumbledore to set spies everywhere to make sure I can't even travel in the wizarding world without being stalked at every corner,' thought Harry. He decided he would end this conversation quickly.  
"Yes, actually, Tom. I do mind. Now, please, if you don't mind, can I have my room key?"  
"Yes, of course," said Tom. He looked a little startled that Harry would use that tone with him. They had always been very friendly, but Tom figured that Harry must know that Professor Dumbledore had lots of people watching him, so he just let him go with the key. He had every intention of writing to the Headmaster as soon as he got that chance. That is, until he couldn't remember what he was supposed to report. 'What just happened?' thought Tom.  
Unknown to anyone else, Harry had cast a wandless memory modification charm at all of the people at the pub. He saw Death Eaters and Dumbledore's spies at the Leaky Cauldron and he didn't want to bother with them right now. He quickly put all of his stuff away, threw off his clothes, and took a nap.  
He woke up again around 4:00 and decided to go shopping for his supplies. He tied his hair in a low, loose ponytail but left his bangs to frame his chiseled face. He stepped past the brick wall wearing his standard black gear (with leather trench-coat and all) and stopped in his tracks. All activity had slowly come to a complete, screeching halt. There was a silence in Diagon Alley that no one had heard since it was made. Not even at night could a person hear so little as this in Diagon Alley. Harry looked around at what caused the halt and realized it was him.  
Every girl in the vicinity was looking at him as if he was raw meat and every guy in the vicinity was looking like he either wanted to beat Harry up or be Harry. For nearly a whole minute, everyone just stared at Harry and his impassive facial expression that hid his awe at the fact that he could attract so many people. 'Not bad, Potter,' he told himself, 'but I need to get stuff done.' With that, he put an identity-holding memory charm on himself so that anyone who gawped at him could do so but would forget his identity once they looked away. With that in place, he walked straight to Gringotts to refill his moneybag.  
After a long, roller-coaster ride to his vault and back, Harry walked straight to Knockturn Alley, still attracting young and old women, alike, as he passed. Once in the Alley, he pulled up his hood to fit into the crowd more. Once he was done, he began to limp and act like he was one of the "normal" Knockturn Alley crowd. He went to a potion supplies store and walked in. He had a little business to do.  
He walked in and rang the little bell on the desk. A few moments later, the store-owner walked up to him and rashly asked, "What do you want?"  
"Two spikes from the tail of a Hungarian Horntail, the claw from a Norwegian Ridgeback, seven ounces of powdered phoenix beak, seventeen quarts of basilisk venom, and that," Harry said pointing to a silver chain on the wall with a beautiful pendant. The pendant had stardust inside of a miniature glass statue of a beautiful angel. The angel's wings were a stunning diamond-white and the eyes were made of emeralds.  
"That," the storekeeper said referring to the chain, "is not for sale. And even if it was, you wouldn't be able to pay for it."  
"How much?" asked Harry. This time a little bit more harshly.  
"I said, 'it's not for sale.'"  
"And why not?"  
"Because you can't afford it."  
"Try me."  
"8,000 galleons for all of it. The necklace and pendant alone are 7,300 galleons."  
"Why so much?"  
"Hah! I knew you couldn't afford it. It's because it has real two karat diamonds in it. Plus, it's got a safety charm on it that was outlawed years ago because of how powerful it was. It could withstand up to almost a hundred curses of any kind other than the Unforgivables."  
  
"I'll take it," Harry said, "charge it to my account."  
"Yes, sir!" said the store-owner enthusiastically.  
Once he had everything he needed, Harry set out back up to Diagon Alley. Once he got there, he had a great idea. When he was younger, he had a dream about a flying motorcycle. Maybe he would make that dream come true. He knew Sirius had had one once, so maybe he could have one too. He walked out of the Leaky Cauldron, into the muggle world, and went to an auto dealer. He searched through the cool bike models and finally selected a black sports-bike. He didn't really like Harley-Davidson type bikes, but he thought the sports-bike looked really cool. 'I think we'll call it the "Nightrider,"' thought Harry. With that, he bought it and rode it around for a little while.  
When he got back in front of the Leaky Cauldron, he shrunk his bike and stuck it in his pocket while walking through the threshold.  
What he saw there stunned him, though he would never show it. Instead, he let the first warm smile in a long time come to his face. It was Ginny Weasley. He walked over to her and said, "Hiya, Ginny!"  
"Ummm. do I know you?" Ginny said secretly hoping Harry looked this hot when he grew up. 'God! This guy must be like twenty, but he's the hottest looking guy I've ever seen. Damn, look at that hair. Is that sexy or what? And the trench-coat. Gives him that dark, sexy, vampirish look.'  
"Awww. come on Gin. Don't you recognize me?" Harry asked.  
"Ummm. no," Ginny said very fluently. 'His face does look kind of familiar,' thought Ginny.  
"Gin! I can't believe you! It's me, Harry. As in Harry Potter." Silence. All Ginny could think was, 'Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!' over and over again. She was hoping to see Harry here since he said that he would be at the Leaky Cauldron, but she definitely didn't expect to see this. Since he wasn't getting any response, he leaned over and hugged her. 'Holy shit,' he thought, 'Ginny's definitely grown up! God, if I hug her again, I might have to ravage her right here. Don't want to think how that would go over with her parents.'  
"So, what are you doing here Gin." This seemed to snap Ginny out of it.  
"Well, after I got your letter, I told mum that I needed some time and space to get over Dean and I asked if I could stay at the Leaky Cauldron for some time to think. She said fine since no one really seems to care what I do right now, so that's why I'm here. We already know why you're here." After a few minutes of awkward silence, Harry brought up another subject.  
"Ginny, I'm really sorry about what Dean did to you." This seemed to be the right button to press, because instead of her becoming sad, she became happy.  
"Harry, I want to thank you for being there when I needed someone. If it weren't for you, I would feel like trash right now."  
"Gin, you're not trash. You're the most beautiful girl in the world. You can't be trash, it's impossible," Harry stated as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. Ginny blushed crimson and mumbled thanks and tried to look down or away. Harry thought he should release some pressure and asked, "would you like to help me shop for supplies?"  
"Sure," Ginny replied happily jumping up and walking hand-in-hand with Harry - though she didn't know it - towards Diagon Alley.  
Harry went around and bought all of his supplies and had great fun doing it with Ginny. He bought her ice cream and there, he gave her the necklace that he had bought. He told her about Ron and Hermione's betrayal and told her that she was one of the few people that Harry had or could trust and so he was giving this to her. She seemed happy when he told her that but furious at her brother for doing something like that to Harry. Finally, right before they were heading back to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry pulled Ginny into a rare pet store. Being the youngest child in the family, Ginny had always gotten the oldest stuff like wands, books, and equipment. But she had never gotten a pet as they didn't live long enough to get passed down to her. Harry was going to change all of that. He left Ginny in the back of the store and walked up to the counter. He asked to speak with the manager and after throwing his weight around a little bit - after all, he was Harry Potter; and if he didn't use his fame for Ginny, who else was there to use it on? - he got to speak with him. He asked the manager how many phoenixes he had. "Three," the manager said, "and five eggs. I'll warn you Mr. Potter, that phoenixes are mighty expensive" "I'll warn you Mr. Richards," Harry growled, "to not underestimate me." "Yes, sir," the manager said with a scowl and a look of wonderment as to how Harry knew his name. With that, he brought Harry to the back of the store and showed him the phoenixes he had. Harry looked at them and then looked at the eggs. Something about the eggs hit Harry as strange. Two of them seemed to be radiating an aura that Harry liked. He picked these two. "How much?" "For you, Mr. Potter, 1,000 galleons. A very good deal if you don't mind my saying so." "Deal," Harry said. With that, Harry gave him 1,200 galleons and told him the two-hundred was for keeping the transaction under wraps. The manager agreed happily and went about his work as if nothing had happened. Harry walked back over to Ginny and handed her one of the eggs and said, "Happy belated Birthdays, Gin. This is for all of the years that I haven't gotten you birthday presents." "Oh, Harry. a phoenix egg. You didn't have to," she said as she looked up into his eyes. "I know," said Harry, his voice coming out a lot more lustful than he had expected. They were about to walk out of the store when they both walked out at once and got stuck in the especially small door-frame. "Oops, sorry about that," said Harry. Ginny blushed and tried looking down as Harry tried to budge out of the way, but all that happened was that Harry and Ginny were back in the store and closer than ever. Harry was just a breath away from Ginny. In a move bolder than - in his eyes - taking on Voldemort, but he cupped Ginny's chin and placed a lingering kiss on her mouth and pulled back quickly to see if she approved. When he did pull back, Ginny was in a daze and looked as if she did approve fully. As soon as he pulled back, Ginny pulled him back in forcefully with one hand around his neck and the other around his waist. She wanted him so badly but never had she imagined that he wanted her too. They kissed and kissed, too caught up in their own little world to pay attention to anything else. Finally, they broke apart and Harry asked timidly and a little breathlessly, "So, Ginny, would you like to go out with me?" "Yes," she said before he even finished his sentence. They both chuckled nervously before walking back towards the Leaky Cauldron. Harry decided to drop off his supplies before walking Ginny to her room so they both headed to his room. Once they were there, he asked - acting more boldly than he felt - if she'd like to come in. "I don't know if that's a good idea," she said, but after seeing the crestfallen look that came to her new boyfriend's face, she said "Sure." She came in and they started kissing again. She started kissing him harder and he kissed her just as hard. He slid his tongue in between her lips and asked for passage, which she obliged. After tasting her sweet, bubble-gum tongue for a little while, he started to kiss down her neck. She pushed him onto his bed and climbed on top of him with lust-filled, cloudy eyes. He continued to kiss her on her neck, behind her ear, on her collar-bone, and anywhere else he could reach. He knew they were going fast, but he had wanted to do this for so long. Ginny slowly slid off his trench-coat and fingered his buttons until they came off. She felt up his bare chest and thought that she might have an orgasm before they even get anywhere. Almost at that time, Harry seemed to snap out of his trance and stopped kissing her. He said breathlessly, "Ginny, we can't do this just yet." She agreed with him totally and told him so. Then he asked, "would you like to stay in bed with me tonight, Gin?" "Yes," she replied in all sincerity. She had only dreamt of this day, but never thought the day would come when Harry Potter would ask her to sleep in his bed with him. With that they curled up together and both had the best night in a long, long time - happy that they had finally gotten together with the person that they loved. 


	6. Godric's Hollow

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
A.N.:  
  
Dear Readers,  
  
I was told that my previous chapters were a little difficult to read, so now, I am spacing everything out a little bit more. Hopefully, that will help you all out. Also, I was criticized on making Harry and Ginny's relationship move to fast. I will see what I can do about that. It may appear that the story is going too quickly; but trust me, I have a lot to write. Also, even though J.K. Rowling has made it clear that Ron and Hermione wouldn't betray Harry, this is my story so I'm going to make it such that they do betray him. Another reviewer also told me to give more credit to Dumbledore. Sorry, these are my personal feelings towards the old Headmaster. I admit, he is a great wizard; but face it, everyone looses their touch sometime. Please understand that, in this story, Harry doesn't hate or begrudge Dumbledore for what he did; and he definitely doesn't disrespect him. Harry just thinks that Dumbledore is getting a little old and deserves his rest while another person burdens the troubles of the wizarding world. Once again, any suggestions are appreciated. Enjoy.  
  
-PotterPower.  
  
Chapter 6 - Godric's Hollow  
  
Birds were chirping, the sun was peeking over the curtain, and squirrels were scampering around the trees. This was the sight that greeted Harry Potter when he woke up, along with the weight of a certain young, red-headed Weasley female on his chest. He turned and looked down at Ginny. 'Wow,' he thought, 'I could definitely get used to this.'  
  
With that thought, he lazily slipped out of bed and began to take a shower and get ready. In the shower he started thinking about the events of last night. He was extremely happy about everything that had happened: Ginny had finally agreed to become his girlfriend. However, one question plagued his mind: 'Are we going a little bit too fast? Maybe I should slow things down a bit. Go on a few dates first or something like that. I don't think we should be sleeping in the same bed yet, no matter how good it feels. Hopefully she won't be mad at me.' With those thoughts, he decided to bring up that topic during the day.  
  
He finished taking a bath, got dressed, and woke Ginny up gently. As her eyes fluttered open, he couldn't help but feel his stomach do little flips of joy. She mumbled a "Good Morning," and kissed him soundly on the lips. After they pulled apart, she blushed a little and gave him a cute little smile. 'Yeah, I don't think we should act too serious just yet. She still seems a little uncomfortable being this open around me.'  
  
"Ginny," Harry said.  
  
"Mmmm?"  
  
"I wanted to talk to you about last night."  
  
"Yeah, what about it?" she asked, a bit more warily.  
  
"I was wondering, do you think we went a little too fast?"  
  
After a moment of silence, she said, "Yeah, kinda." She blushed slightly and gave him a timid smile. He gave her a reassuring smile in return. This made Harry feel a lot better that she wasn't mad at him or something like that.  
  
"How about we start off with some dates and get to know each other better. I mean, I know who you are and everything; but other than from the letters we sent each other this summer, I don't know much else about you. So, how about it?"  
  
"Absolutely," Ginny said.  
  
"Well, go get ready. Would you like to have our first date today?"  
  
"Sure!" she said enthusiastically.  
  
"Also, would you like to help me rebuild my old home?"  
  
"Umm. Harry, are you sure you want to do that?" Ginny asked obviously worried that it may affect Harry emotionally.  
  
"More certain than anything else in the world. other than the fact that I love you," Harry added making her blush and feel happy for him at the same time. She wasn't used to being told that she was loved by a boyfriend and he was, after all, going to see his home for the first time in fifteen years.  
  
With that - after taking a bath and getting ready - they went off to have a bike ride. They walked out into muggle London and Harry expanded his "Nightrider." He explained to Ginny all about the dreams he used to have when he was young and how he intended to bend a few of the Ministry's rules by making this motorbike fly. He wanted it to be just like in his dreams. They drove all around London for nearly two hours and came back around ten in the morning.  
  
"That was great Harry! I love your new bike," Ginny said.  
  
"Thanks, Gin," Harry said, "it reminds me of Sirius. I know it wasn't his bike, but the idea that he once had a bike too. well, its just reassuring, that's all." At this, Ginny gave him a warm smile and a peck on the cheek.  
  
They dismounted the bike, as Harry shrunk it and put it back in his pocket, and went back into Diagon Alley to get some of the work done that Harry needed to finish. Harry continuously kept up the identity-modifying memory charm so that all the people who were still gawping at the incredibly handsome (or as many younger "ooglers" would say, "hot") couple wouldn't remember them for who they were.  
  
As they came across a newspaper rack, Harry picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet to check what the latest gossip was; after all, he could hardly call that crap news. After reading it, he laughed and handed the article to Ginny who seemed equally amused but slightly worried at the same time. It read:  
  
Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, Missing!  
  
It was reported yesterday at 4:37 p.m. that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who- Lived, was missing. He was residing with his uncle, aunt, and cousin - Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley - when the report was made. The report was called in by Ministry aurors who were patrolling the area around Mr. Potter's residence for his own personal safety. They were located there after the most interesting events of last year's Dementor attack - which was proven to be real - in Surrey, a muggle portion of London.  
  
Though we hope that it isn't true, most experts suspect that one of He-Who- Must-Not-Be-Named's followers is behind our savior's disappearance. Others suspect that it was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, himself; though this is unlikely as wards were put up around Mr. Potter's residence by none other than Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, possibly the most powerful wizard in the century.  
  
There is, however, another theory. A theory presented by our current Minister Fudge and his Undersecretary, Percival Weasley. Minister Fudge says that the boy is delusional and the fact that Mr. Potter knew of You- Know-Who's resurrection is purely coincidental. Minister Fudge strongly holds that Mr. Potter is dangerous and that civilians should stay away from him. The Minister is working on finding a charge against Mr. Potter for which to arrest him.  
  
However, we must keep in mind that this is the same Minister who refused to believe that You-Know-Who was resurrected and who refused to take advice from the very famous and wise Albus Dumbledore.  
  
Neither Minister Fudge, Undersecretary Percival Weasley, nor Headmaster of Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore were available for comment. All that is truly known is that this reporter is here to find the scoop of the story.  
  
-Rita Skeeter  
  
"I knew that bug would have her uses," Harry said while scoffing at the fact that the Ministry took credit for protecting his house when he knew it was Remus and Tonks who were doing the watch shift during the time that Harry had left.  
  
"Who would've known," Ginny stated.  
  
"Hey, come on," Harry said, "we aren't going to stay at the Leaky Cauldron anymore. It's getting unsafe. We'll go to the Broken Broomstick, one of the local pubs in Godric's Hollow." With that, they went back inside, packed their trunks, shrunk them, put them in Harry's pockets, paid Tom, and continued to their destination chatting about different things.  
  
When they finally reached their goal, Gringotts, Harry opened the door and allowed Ginny to go in first. They walked up to the nearest open Goblin, who happened to be Griphook - the Goblin that helped Harry get his money in his first year. 'Looks like the little guy got a promotion,' Harry thought.  
  
"Hello, Griphook," Harry said.  
  
The Goblin looked up slightly startled that a wizard knew his name and greeted his guest with a, "Hello, Mr. Potter. What can I do for you today?" Griphook had always liked Harry. After all, he did save the wizarding world from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It would be terrible for business if He got into power.  
  
"I'd like to know exactly how much money I have and any investment opportunities that are available. I want to start contributing to my fortune too, not just feed off of it," Harry stated.  
  
"Very well, Mr. Potter. That is a very respectable thing to do. Let's see here." he said as he took Harry's key and looked in the filing catalog, "you have 1,378,046 galleons, 7 sickles, and 11 knuts. Quite a fortune, Mr. Potter."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Now, about the investment opportunities. You can buy shares in certain wizarding stores located either here, in Diagon Alley, or in Hogsmeade. If you want a continuous income, I would suggest buying shares of book stores or clothing stores. If you want to take risks, I would suggest buying shares of weapons stores, potions stores, or pet stores."  
  
"Any other options," Harry asked, a little disappointed. He wanted something a little risky, but with big money involved. Not chump change like these. Harry had an idea brewing in his head and he was pretty sure he would need funds for it. Maybe he wouldn't just rebuild his old home; maybe he would expand it. a lot.  
  
Griphook seemed to be thinking for a while and muttered, "no. I'm not sure if it's for you," but at the angry look that suddenly crossed Harry's face, he quickly squeaked, "I was thinking that you could start your own store."  
  
"Well, go ahead. Explain."  
  
"Ummm. okay," Griphook said very fluently, "Don't you find it odd that Madame Rosmerta is the only one who makes specialty wizarding drinks in the England and Scotland area? Butterbeer and Firewhiskey seem to be the only special wizarding drinks. I was thinking, what if we design our own?"  
  
Harry sighed, "well, I'm not much of a cook or inventor."  
  
At this, Ginny jumped up and said, "I have an idea! I've been working on this drink for a few years now. Ever since mom taught me how to cook, I've wanted to own a place like Madame Rosmerta and have a special drink that I made on my own. So, I did." She, once again, ended her rambling a little shyly.  
  
Harry smiled warmly and said, "we'll try your drink Ginny and set up a shop just for you. We'll all split the proceeds equally. All of us will get one-thirds of the profit. Ginny will get it for her recipe, I will get it for my investment into the store, and, Griphook, you will get it for quitting your job at Gringotts and permanently working as manager there. What do you say?"  
  
Griphook seemed deep in thought when he said, "Okay, but only if I approve of the drink, too."  
  
"Great! Meet us tomorrow in front of the weaponry shop next to Olivanders at 10:30 a.m. sharp." With a nod of Griphook's head, Harry and Ginny were off again. 'Finally, I'm going to see my home,' Harry thought. But before that, Harry had something to discuss with Ginny.  
  
Harry dragged Ginny into a small tea-shop where they could talk quietly without being disturbed. As soon as he got inside and got a table, he ordered two of the café's specialty teas. The waitress came back with the two cups, put them down, and left with a knowing smile plastered onto her face. 'She was probably thinking we were going to make out in public or something.' But before Ginny could even ask why she was brought into a little tea shop, Harry said, "Ginny, I've got power."  
  
"Duh! I know already, remember? You told me about the whole practicing over the summer and getting stronger thingy?" said Ginny.  
  
"Shhh. not so loud. You didn't let me finish my sentence. What I was going to say was that I want to give you some power. Wait. before you object. think about it. You are fairly strong Ginny, but not nearly as strong as I'd like for you to be. I mean, Voldemort will want to get to me through you, and."  
  
"I'm not afraid of him," Ginny said defiantly.  
  
"But I am," Harry said a little bit more calmly. "If he hurts you, I don't know what I'd do. Trust me, my giving you a little power won't weaken me much at all. I have a lot of potential and in a few years, I'll be a hundred times stronger than either Dumbledore or Voldemort."  
  
"But Harry, why don't you just protect me with that power. And if anything bad happened like that, it wouldn't be your fault, and."  
  
Harry put his hand up motioning for her to stop and said "just think about it is all I ask. Give it some time. Until then, if you're done your tea, let's go to Godric's Hollow."  
  
After finishing up and paying the bill, the couple walked over to a nearby floo station and flooed to the Godric's Hollow local pub, the Broken Broomstick. They ordered a two-bed suite that was separated. Harry did this because he thought it would be more appropriate and proper if he gave Ginny some space and privacy, and he was very glad when Ginny gave him an appraising smile when he said this. She looked at him with a facial expression that little girls had when they were looking at a little baby puppy and saying "Awwww. how cute."  
  
After setting down their luggage and enlarging it, they left to go find the ruins of Harry's old home. After about thirty minutes of searching, they found an old, deserted lot that was filled with piles of stinking wood. The remains were still smoking, even after fifteen years, and looked as if they had just been destroyed yesterday. The only part of the structure that was intact was the front garden fence.  
  
Harry walked through it and came to a burned apple tree. A single tear dropped from his still-smiling but emotionless face. His heart was being wrenched from the inside, but he promised himself he wouldn't show weakness. Instead, he kept a small, steady, everlasting smile on his face.  
  
After his silent moment of mourning, he pulled out a vial of gooey, neon-green liquid in a glass phial. It was the potion that he had made using the ingredients he had bought in Knockturn Alley. The potion was an old, illegal potion that acted as a super-memory enhancer. It allowed you to remember every slight detail throughout all of your experiences in your life if you just concentrate on them. The potion had been outlawed because the animal parts needed were becoming rare and the animals themselves were dying out and students were using them to do well on tests and such.  
  
Harry took out a few long sheets of parchment to draw out a sketch of what he wanted. Harry downed the phial and began focusing on his mother and father and what he could remember of them.  
  
He remembered them carrying him around the small summer-home. He remembered Sirius was mercilessly tickling the baby Harry and watched happily as the baby Harry giggled and cooed. He remembered every little memory that he had at that age with anyone who loved him or ever spent time with him.  
  
However, he wasn't really paying attention to the people or actions in this memory. Instead, he was paying attention to the rooms and structures that made up the house. By the time he was done with all of his memories, he had a sketch of the entire house and how it was built. Now, he was ready to start building the house.  
  
"This is a blueprint of the house we're going to build. Okay, Gin?" Harry asked.  
  
"Of course it's okay," Ginny said giving him and odd look for asking whether it was okay or not to her of all people.  
  
"Today we'll only have enough time to clear up this mess that's still here. And maybe we'll have enough time to go and buy the lots around the house. It looks like they were all deserted." And indeed, they were. All the houses behind Harry's house were deserted as were three houses to each side. 'Excellent,' thought Harry, 'soon. very soon Potter Mansion, Number 7 Hollow Street, Godric's Hollow, will be built.'  
  
With that, Harry got to work while Ginny walked around and took a look at the other houses. They were all in good condition, but Ginny had no idea why Harry would want to buy them all. They were all old, Victorian- style cottages that were obviously meant to be vacation homes.  
  
After nearly two hours of backbreaking physical and magical labor, Harry was done. The yard had absolutely nothing on it except for fresh grass and tons of magical wards.  
  
Harry was quite pleased with his work. He had cleared up all of the evil magical signatures, destroyed all of the rubble while saving all of his parent's things that were still intact (nothing but photo albums and some pieces of furniture), re-grown all of the grass by feeding it magical energy, and put up very strong anti-apparating and protective wards and barriers.  
  
After going back to the Broken Broomstick and washing up, the duo went to the owners of the surrounding houses and bought all of the properties for comparatively little money as hardly anyone wanted that land anyway. 'That's enough work for one day,' Harry thought as they returned to their rooms and ordered room service. After having a light dinner with a sample of Ginny's new drink which she had made while Harry was washing up. She called it Dreamstand. It was a fluffy, cool, ice-creamish soft drink that burned slightly on the tongue but was addictive. "Perfect," Harry said out loud. "Griphook won't have a problem selling this. We'll get more money than we need in no time at all. Great job Gin. What we're doing wouldn't have worked without you." She blushed at this and pretended like it was nothing. Harry gave her a goodnight kiss and bid her a simple, "sleep well."  
  
'Ahhh. what a nice day,' thought Harry. 'I finally got to see where my parents lived and where I lived for the first year of my life. Wait until Potter Mansion is built. It'll be the most famous residence in the wizarding world. I'll throw balls, parties, everything. I have to become well trusted by the people, not just well known; what better way to do it than to invite them to parties with other famous and rich people?'  
  
With that thought, he drifted off. But right before he went to sleep, he thought he saw an odd greenish glow from the cracks of his trunk. He just threw it off as seeing things and conked off. Little did he know, a very similar thing was happening in Ginny's trunk, though she was asleep. 


	7. Dreamstand

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
A.N.:  
  
Dear Readers,  
  
From next chapter onwards, I will be writing the replies to all of the e-mails that you guys send me at the end of the chapter. If there is an e-mail which you would like for me not to respond to in public, please state that in your e-mail. Thanks and enjoy the chapter.  
  
-PotterPower.  
  
Chapter 7 - Dreamstand  
  
The next morning, Harry and Ginny woke up at the exact same time with an odd feeling at the pit of their stomachs. They felt like they were hungry, but knew that it wasn't their own stomachs telling them that. It was more like when a baby was hungry, the mother knew about it. It felt as if someone or something else was hungry, but they knew about it. But they definitely didn't know that the other felt that way too.  
  
After they both got up, took showers, got dressed, and were ready for another day of business and work; it hit Harry like a ton of bricks. 'Of course,' Harry thought, 'Why didn't I think of this before?' Then, he asked - feeling kind of stupid for asking such a dumb-sounding question - "Ginny, do you happen to get the feeling that you're hungry, but you really aren't that hungry?"  
  
With a startled look on her face, she said, "Yeah. How'd you know?"  
  
Without answering, he ran over to his trunk and looked under the soft blanket that he had transfigured from his cousin Dudley's old pants. 'Ha!' Harry thought, triumphantly, 'Exactly what I thought. Now where is that little bugger. He's probably the one that made that green light I thought I imagined last night.'  
  
Harry frantically searched around for what should have been under the blanket. After turning over almost half of the room, Harry heard a faint noise coming from underneath his bed. He walked over and flipped the bed sheets up while peeking underneath to see what was there (though he already had an idea).  
  
He, not very surprisingly, found two of what he was looking for. He pulled them out gingerly and carried them over to Ginny, who was looking at him as if he were crazy. He tilted his hand slowly and allowed Ginny to take a peak at the two things that he had. Ginny gasped and said, "Awww. how cute. Oh, Harry, they're beautiful."  
  
And indeed they were. In his palm, Harry carried two sleeping baby phoenixes. Harry now remembered reading in a book that since the phoenixes were bonded to both Harry and Ginny, they were getting that weird feeling of hunger (the phoenixes really were hungry).  
  
Neither of these phoenixes were the regular kind of phoenixes - as Harry could tell from the aura he could see around them in the pet store. They both had tiny, light silver and gold feathers that barely covered their bodies yet. Their eyes weren't open yet and they were small enough that Harry could eat them in one bite. But they were amazingly cute.  
  
Harry gently woke them up, conjured up some worms, and fed them to the birds until they were full. Ginny seemed somewhat repulsed that such beautiful creatures could eat such yucky looking stuff, but she didn't say anything against it. After Harry was done feeding them, he asked if Ginny wanted to hold her phoenix, the girl. She said sure and carefully held the phoenix that seemed to be wiggling in its new position to get more comfortable. After Ginny gave it a little hug, it gave a tiny squawk that made Ginny giggle and give Harry a tender, loving look that made him feel that his entire life was worth it.  
  
He looked at his own phoenix and started playing with it. "So, what shall we call you, my young phoenix-friend?" Harry inquired, more to himself than the young bird in question. "How about Amenti?" After hearing his little bird try to make a squawk to match or beat that of Ginny's, he chuckled and said, "Yes, Amenti is a fine name for you."  
  
Ginny was also thinking what to name her phoenix. "What shall we name you, little one? How about Attala? Both you and your friend can both have names starting with the same letter, yes?" she asked. After receiving another squawk, this time a little bit stronger than before, of approval, Ginny giggled again and gave Harry a full blown kiss on the lips. To Ginny's surprise, this time Harry blushed (not saying that she didn't; just that she was surprised that he did). He hadn't been showing much emotion on his face at all lately and it had started worrying her, but now, once again, she was fully care free.  
  
'Shit!' thought Harry, 'I let my emotions show. I can't do that. Not if I want to become the best. I have to become an unwavering symbol of the light side. But, she's so beautiful that it hurts sometimes. Oh, well, we better get going; we have an appointment.' "Come on Gin," Harry said out loud, "we have to go present Dreamstand to Griphook, remember?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Ginny said, "Man, I hope he likes it. If he manages the store, we could become rich." She gave a wistful sigh as Harry smiled at her similarities to Ron. They both wanted to be rich, not that he could blame them since they never actually got much of what they wanted throughout their lives.  
  
After getting a vial of Dreamstand ready, putting Amenti and Attala in their pockets, and getting set to go; they stepped outside. Harry suddenly got an idea. "Gin, what do you say we fly over to the meeting- place?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, I haven't brought my broom."  
  
"That wasn't exactly what I was thinking about." With that, Harry took out his Nightrider and expanded it. He cast eight different wandless spells on it. One to make it fly; one to make it invisible; and six to make it go forwards, backwards, right, left, down, and up. After he was done, he bowed with a flourish and said in his most subservient voice, "After you, Madame."  
  
With a giggle, Ginny got on and waited as her boyfriend climbed in front of her - with a little trouble -, removed the kickstand, and started the bike. All of a sudden, to her surprise, they started flying. The bike wasn't nearly as smooth as the brooms she had ridden, but it was quite fun so far for her. "Harry, how did you do this without the ministry knowing about it?"  
  
"Well, Ginny, as you know, I can do magic wandlessly and the Ministry usually considers wandless magic as accidental magic. You could say they use something like a "frequency" - which is unique to every wizard or witch depending on how he or she is feeling - to know which wizard or witch did the magic and where his or her location is. However, since my wandless magic is intentional, it doesn't carry that "frequency" that tells the Ministry that it is me or that any magic was even done, for that matter. I'll teach you. . .soon."  
  
With that, Harry accelerated to top speed as Ginny squealed in excitement. 'I could definitely get used to this,' thought Harry thinking about both, flying on the motorbike and having Ginny hold him at the waist like she was now.  
  
Within another hour, they landed in front of an obscure little shop next to the Leaky Cauldron. You would think that a store next to the Leaky Cauldron would flourish as so many people would pass it; but this dark, deserted little shop looked anything but inviting. On the top of the store was written the name of the store, "Flamdrang: Weapons Makers."  
  
After letting Ginny get off, Harry swung his right leg back over the bike and shrunk it at the same time. He put the miniature sports-bike in his pocket, grabbed Ginny's hand, and walked to the front of the store. They stood on the porch near the front door and acted as if they were making-out.  
  
"Harry, what are we doing?" Ginny asked in a slightly worried voice.  
  
"Keep acting. As you can tell, this store doesn't attract the most respectable clientele. If we act like we're kissing, no one will bother us."  
  
After about five minutes, Ginny was getting a little tired of just acting and was becoming flustered at being so close to Harry but not actually being able to do anything. So she began to lean in closer and closer, though Harry didn't notice, until their lips met. She grabbed him around his neck and tilted her head slightly to get a better angle. She started playing with the hair on the nape of his neck and began to pull back - just to see what Harry would do.  
  
Harry was knocked out of his daze of looking for Griphook by a pair of hands and a pair of lips to go with them. He really hadn't expected Ginny to start kissing him but he kissed back anyway without showing the least bit of surprise. However, when she started pulling away, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her even closer. He moved his face a little closer so that she couldn't pull away and noticed that she stopped pulling away as soon as he did this.  
  
While they continued their little "exploration" for another five to ten minutes, Griphook appeared behind them and with a little fake cough, got Ginny to whip around with a slightly-startled look while Harry still had his impenetrable mask on. Ginny started blushing slightly, though she didn't seem too bothered by being caught. Harry smiled at this, 'Good, she doesn't feel too uncomfortable about being with me.'  
  
"Well, Griphook, you're a little late," Harry stated.  
  
"Sorry about that Mr. Potter . . ."  
  
"Harry. Just call me Harry."  
  
"Sorry about that Harry. The boss didn't like the idea of me taking even a few hours of time off."  
  
"It's okay," Harry said. Then, he turned to Ginny and said, "Gin, if you would please give Griphook a taste of your Dreamstand?"  
  
"Of course," Ginny said politely while handing a flask of fluffy, bubbly, purple liquid to the Goblin. He took a sip, seemed to contemplate the taste, took another sip, and then nodded.  
  
"Very good, Ms. Weasley. You have quite some skill," then turning to Harry, he said, "I agree to your deal. I will quit my job tomorrow and will help you in your search for a shop."  
  
"No need, Griphook. I saw an ideal shop in the center of Diagon Alley. It was an old book store that Flourish & Blotts beat out of business, but no one wanted the space because they didn't feel it was big enough for any of the shops they needed. We, on the other hand, don't need much space. We'll just set up the kitchen on the inside and have the tables set up in a patio fashion on the outside with a tent over them. What do you say?"  
  
"Sounds perfect," said Ginny becoming very excited about partially owning her own little restaurant.  
  
"I agree," said Griphook, "but what else should we sell there?"  
  
"The standard," said Harry, "everything that a muggle pub would have as well as everything that the Leaky Cauldron has. You could also have everything that Madame Rosmerta has at her shop, except for the Butterbeer, of course. I don't want the prices too high and I want you to hire helping hands. Hire two workers at first and take out any money you need to start up the business from my vault." Then, pulling out some papers, Harry said, "Here are the papers for proof of ownership of the building. I got them just yesterday. Report back to me within the next two days and tell me how far you have gotten with setting up the shop. I expect to see the shop open within the next week. The sooner, the better. If there is nothing else, you may leave."  
  
With that, Griphook bowed, took the papers, and disappeared with a pop very similar to that which Dobby made when he apparated.  
  
"Wow," Ginny said with a look of awe on her face, "do you know who you just sounded like?" When Harry didn't say anything, Ginny said, "You sounded just like Dumbledore when he's commanding people around. It's just that . . . you've grown so much, Harry." She swept her hand through his hair and cradled his cheek in the other. "You've grown more than you should have had to, Harry," she said as she started pulling him closer and closer.  
  
Harry was a bit surprised that she had compared him to Dumbledore. 'So I guess my hiding my emotions and standing my ground is paying off in how people see me,' Harry thought. 'That's good. At least, now, people won't think of me as a child anymore. They shouldn't . . . they have no right to. I haven't been a child since I was three; and even then, it wasn't much of a childhood."  
  
After this thought, Harry felt himself being pulled into a tender kiss by Ginny and returned it with all of the same emotion. After they had pulled apart again, Harry said, "Come on, Gin. I have to get a few more things." With that, he pulled her into the grubby, little weapons-shop that seemed so daunting.  
  
Once they stepped inside, Ginny could see that the inside of the store was just as dark and foreboding as the outside. 'Why didn't they just put this store in Knockturn Alley? It looks like the kind of store that would belong there,' thought Ginny.  
  
Harry strode up to the front counter and rang the little silver bell three times. After a good twenty seconds, there was a knock on the wall after which, a bookcase slid open revealing a thin passageway that was hidden behind it. Once the passageway was fully opened, a fairly young, neatly-groomed man came out. He was about 5'8", blonde, and looked as if he was starving. In a creaky voice that came from slightly-chapped lips he said, "What can I do for you?"  
  
Harry answered confidently, "I need a quiver, never-ending arrow supply, and a sheath for my sword."  
  
Without even throwing Harry a questioning glance, the man assumed Harry was at least twenty-five and automatically placed an assortment of each of the items that Harry had ordered on the table. Harry picked out one of each: a black, dragon-hide quiver; a never-ending supply of arrows that had tips that shattered once they pierced the skin; and a gleaming, black, stone sheath for his sword. The last item was rather heavy, but the stone was strong and absolutely stunning.  
  
This last though made Harry think about other possibilities too. His sword was good for practicing, but it wouldn't do well for real battles. And he could also teach Ginny to fight with a sword. He was, after all, still bent on giving her some of his powers. With that thought, he picked out another sheath: one that was much lighter than his. It was a black, leather one that hung at the waist, just like his. He also went to the swords rack and looked through them. He picked out a slim, sharp katana that had a beautiful red and gold hilt. It was so beautiful that it took his breath away. The blade gleamed in the little light that was in the store and the hilt had beautiful red gems embedded into the intricately carved golden handle. 'It's perfect,' he thought. Then, he said, "Gin, I want you to pick a sword that you like. No complaints, please," he added, "Make sure that it is light enough that you can lift it, but strong enough to take a hit."  
  
Ginny looked through the many racks but couldn't find the right sword. "Harry, I don't know much about swords, but I don't really like any of these," she said to Harry.  
  
Harry turned to the man at the counter and said, "Well, you heard the lady. Take us to your storeroom." There was so much power in his voice that the man could do nothing but nod and lead them to the back.  
  
Once again, Ginny looked through the stacks until she pulled out another long katana that looked very close to the one that Harry had chosen. In fact, it looked exactly like it except for the fact that the gems embedded into the hilt were green. "Perfect," stated Ginny.  
  
Harry grabbed everything, walked back up to the counter, and told the man to charge everything. The man gave him a questioning look but began to tally up the price quickly when Harry gave him a glare that clearly said, "Don't question me."  
  
"That'll be 783 galleons and 8 sickles even."  
  
Harry handed him the money and walked back out the store with Ginny in tow after shrinking the goods and packing them in his pocket. They got back on the bike - after expanding it - and flew back to the Broken Broomstick to grab something to eat before getting to work on building the house.  
  
Once they were there, they slipped some food into their pockets to allow Amenti and Attala to eat. Then, they began to eat and talk at the same time.  
  
"Well," said Harry, "you probably want to know why I wanted you to get a sword. The reason is that I want to teach you how to fight." Ginny seemed pleased at this but Harry continued, "Gin, are you going to accept some of my powers?"  
  
Ginny frowned and said, "Harry, you know you don't have to do this, but if you want to, then that's fine."  
  
"Yes, Gin, I want to. We'll do it now. Hang on, it'll just sting." Harry then held her hand and looked into her eyes.  
  
After half-a-minute, she jumped, smiled, and said, "that wasn't too bad." Harry had just given her a boost of power to make her a hair stronger than both Voldemort and Dumbledore. He wanted her to be able to do wandless magic to help him so she needed to have the power boost to be able to do it without much drain.  
  
After discussing her powers for a little while longer and dropping off their purchases at the hotel room, Harry and Ginny made their way to Godric's Hollow.  
  
With Ginny's help, Harry leveled all of the surrounding houses that he had bought and began building a mansion. They had just started putting up the main outer-structure when Harry decided it was time to rest for the night.  
  
After returning to the Broken Broomstick, feeding Amenti and Attala, promising to teach Ginny more about her powers and fighting in the morning, and crawling into bed; Harry Potter fell asleep. 


	8. Training

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
A.N.:  
  
Dear Readers,  
  
Here are the responses to all of the e-mail I have been getting. Thanks a lot for your input and keep it coming. The more you write to me, the better (I hope) my story will be.  
  
-PotterPower.  
  
FroBoy: Thanks.  
  
StefDa1nOnly: Harry got the highest scores in the history of Hogwarts on the OWLs on only certain subjects, not overall. I'm really, really trying to make the chapters long, but I'm just not getting the time. I'll try my best, though. Thanks for the review.  
  
Muhahahaha: The reason that I did not make Harry buy daggers and throwing knives - though I did consider it - was because I didn't want to make the story too "mugglish." I wanted Harry to beat evil with mostly magic not mostly physical fighting. Thanks for the compliment and the review.  
  
PerfectAngelGoddess: I'm really glad you like the story so much. I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out all that stuff, huh? It wouldn't be any fun if I told you. But no, Harry is not turning evil; he simply wants the respect and understanding he deserves. He is simply becoming more powerful, wise, and respected.  
  
StarWest45: Sorry about throwing you off on a loop because of the timeline thing. I actually just made up years that I estimated. I guess I was a bit off, huh? Well, use your imagination and say it was whatever year it was supposed to be. And, I'm sorry to tell you, but you're wrong about the last name thing. During the time of King Arthur (though he never really was a King according to fact), people took up the name of their lands as their last names.  
  
Kurbani: I'm glad you like the story and I'll try to slow it down a bit. But, like I said, I have a lot to write.  
  
Chapter 8 - Training  
  
After waking to another beautiful morning, Harry stretched, slid off of his bed, and started his exercise routine. He ran around the entire community ten times, used free-weights, and did some basic magical exercises as well.  
  
He then slipped into the bathroom he shared with Ginny. He took off his clothes, wrapped a towel around his waist, and began to brush. After washing out his mouth, he began to shave - he had started doing this since the beginning of the summer and had been using his Uncle Vernon's old muggle razor out of habit. After he had finished shaving, he was about to throw off his towel and jump into the shower when the opening of a door caught his attention.  
  
When he looked over to the door, he saw Ginny standing there in nothing but her thin, translucent nightgown staring at him. 'Mrs. Weasley would not be happy if she saw how Gin looked right now,' thought Harry, 'Oh, well, good thing she's not here.' Harry then noticed the slight blush that seemed to be creeping into her cheeks and winked at her, in turn, making her blush even more.  
  
Ginny was just walking into the bathroom, intent on taking a bath before Harry woke up as he always used up the shampoo in his hair that didn't listen to him anyway - though she had to admit that it was on of his cutest features - when she saw that Harry was already in the bathroom with nothing but a towel around his waist. She was so embarrassed that all she could do was stand there and stare at his incredible stature.  
  
Once again, all that went through her mind was, 'Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!' After her brain came out of its loop, she thought, 'He's hotter than I thought. Geeez . . . look at his muscles. Not even Charlie has those, and he works with dragons. I mean, they're not huge - they're ugly if they are huge - but talk about sexy! And he's so lean. He must definitely run. That's good, I don't have to run alone anymore. Holy crap, he's staring at me. What!? He's winking at me? No, no, no, no, Ginny! Don't blush! Don't blush! Don't blush! Damn, it's not working. Well, two can play at his little game too!'  
  
With that thought, Ginny said, "Nice towel, Harry. Got anything under there?" But instead of getting the blush she had expected from Harry, he laughed, strode over to her, lifted her by the waist, twirled her around, and kissed her thoroughly.  
  
Then, he said with a sexy smirk, "Good morning to you too, Gin. And, yes, I do have something under the towel. Would you like to see?" At this, Ginny started blushing madly again and ran from the bathroom. Harry laughed again and finished his morning routine after locking the door.  
  
After another hour, Ginny was also out of the bathroom and was ready for her sword-fighting lessons to start. Harry was already waiting in his room, sharpening his and her swords. Ginny had to admit that it was quite the coincidence that their ideal swords were so similar, but she couldn't be happier about it.  
  
"You ready, Gin?" Harry asked not even looking up at her. He looked as if all of his concentration was going into sharpening the swords.  
  
"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Ginny said trying not to look as excited as she really was; she decided that if Harry was going to be strong and not show his feelings because - to the enemy - that would show weakness, then she would do the same.  
  
As if reading what she was thinking, Harry looked up and said, "Ginny, you don't have to hide your feelings. The only reason I have to do this is because I am the only thing in Voldemort's way. I know that sounds harsh in regards to the Order and the other resistance forces against Voldemort, but I'm the only one that can stop him."  
  
"Harry, you don't have to stop Voldemort. Let Dumbledore and the Order take care of that," Ginny said trying to take some of the burden off of Harry.  
  
Harry replied in a very wise and soothing voice, "Gin, Dumbledore's time is up. He is old, and I imagine weary - though he'd never show it. All of the powerful members in the Order like Moody and McGonagall are also old. Out of the young people, none of them are really that strong. It's time for the next generation to protect the world Gin. Even if the next generation is only me, if you're by my side, I'll do it. Plus, what the prophecy said . . ."  
  
"Harry, you know what the prophecy said?" asked Ginny, a little surprised that Harry hadn't already told her, Ron, or Hermione - not that Ron or Hermione deserved to know after the way they had betrayed him.  
  
"Yeah, I do know. Sorry about not telling you; it's a little difficult to deal with, that's all. It basically boils down to either I kill Voldemort or Voldemort kills me," Harry said, putting it very bluntly.  
  
Ginny paled a little but seemed a lot more determined than ever as she said, "Harry, just know that whatever happens, I'll be there with you. Now, start my training so that I can keep my promise."  
  
With that, over the next two-and-a-half to three weeks, Harry started instructing her on sword-fighting (they practiced with wooden swords), karate, judo, many of the other muggle physical-fighting methods, and dueling. He taught her wandless magic, the animagus transformation, and simple strategic battle-tactics (she could now easily beat Ron in chess).  
  
All the while, Ginny had been helping Harry with building the Potter Mansion. With the huge amounts of money coming in from Griphook's Delicious Delights (their store that had quickly become the most popular food stop in Diagon Alley) and the already humongous sum of money in Harry's vault, they were easily able to buy all of the necessary materials. Harry built the actual structure while Ginny decorated and arranged everything from the furniture to the appliances (Harry had wanted some muggle stuff, like televisions and electric plugs all over the house, too). She also altered some of the structural elements. For example, if Harry built the building with square corners and boring windows, Ginny would change the corners into more intricate borders and transform the windows into beautifully engraved arches or stained glass.  
  
Ginny had been telling her mother that she didn't feel like coming home, just yet, but would meet her mother every other day just so that too much suspicion wouldn't be thrown onto her. To say that Mrs. Weasley was displeased at the fact that her only daughter was staying away from her for half the summer - one of the only two times that she got to see her during the year - was an understatement. But she also understood how much the first break-up could hurt. However, she had no clue that Ginny was really enjoying herself and was feeling more whole than ever in her life before. She also had no clue that Ginny was getting much stronger and that even she could do more than hold her own against the likes of Dumbledore.  
  
Finally, on August 24th, just a week before Hogwarts would go back into session, Harry Potter was ready for his "coming out." The Potter Mansion was built (it was one beautiful sight, I might add) and Harry was going to have a huge party inviting everyone, even the ones who he knew were Death Eaters. He was going to invite people of high social-status and even those who had no social-status. He was going to announce to the Daily Prophet that he had not been captured, nor had he turned over to the dark side; he had simply taken a rest from the wizarding world and that this grand ball was his official sixteenth-year "coming out" (a ceremony that was held with much importance in the wizarding world because it marked the fact that the young wizard or witch was ready for courtship; he intended on having one just like it for Ginny in the following year when she turned sixteen).  
  
Harry made orders for invitations to be sent to everyone in the English Ministry's witch/wizard registries. The invitations were very intricate in that they were written in beautiful, loopy, golden script on stiff parchment that was enclosed in an ornamental envelope with golden borders and edges. The envelope was sealed with a wax imprint of the Potter Crest. Harry had made this crest out of a combination of his ancestor's crests. On the upper-right hand side, he put a blue star for Merlin. On the upper-left hand side, he put the Evans shield. In the center, he placed a picture of Excalibur for King Arthur. On the lower- left hand side, he put a picture of a lighting bolt exactly like the scar on his forehead. And on the lower-right hand side, he put a picture representing something that no one had bothered to tell him.  
  
Yes, Dumbledore had dropped hints; but even after all of this time, he hadn't told Harry directly. Even after what had happened to Sirius and the old man had told Harry about the prophecy, he hadn't told Harry this. The thing that Dumbledore hadn't told him, was that Harry was the heir of Godric Gryffindor. So, for the founder of the Gryffindor house, Harry put a griffin in the lower-right hand side corner of the crest. The griffin looked like a lion but with wings and Harry was quite proud to have it on his crest, after all, it was one of his multi-magus forms. All of these images were inscribed into the chest of a phoenix that had its wings outstretched and its head turned to one side. Behind all of these images was a faint green letter "P" for Potter. It was possibly the most intricate seal ever created.  
  
Soon after all of the invitations were out, Harry and Ginny began to prepare the palace - for the house was too large to be called a mansion, though the name was Potter Mansion - for the ball (the ball was in only three days, after all).  
  
Harry went out and bought over fifty house-elves, all of whom he freed and agreed to pay a salary for their work. He told them what foods to make: basically anything and everything that could be considered a specialty in the wizarding world. Then he went out and bought some tight, black dress robes. They included: a skin-tight shirt that showed off his model-like figure, slightly baggy pants that had beautifully sown golden runes along the sides, and a billowing, stiff-shouldered cloak that had the golden Potter crest on the back of it (all of which were black). He also bought shiny, black dragonhide boots that went up to his ankles.  
  
For Ginny, he bought a cream-colored spaghetti-strap dress with a very low neckline and an even lower back-line. 'Guys are going to be lining up to get a view of her in this,' Harry thought, 'After all, witches don't generally show off much skin in the wizarding world.' Her dress's color was exactly opposite of Harry's but seemed to complement it anyway. He also bought her beautiful, hanging, diamond earrings and glass slippers. 'Let's make her feel like Cinderella,' Harry thought, 'I wonder if she'll even understand the glass slippers idea?' Then, he also bought her a diamond necklace to match her earrings. The necklace was a tight necklace that hugged the neck very closely. It was very wide and had clusters of small diamonds in floral patterns.  
  
After bringing everything back home, they started fixing up the house. After only five hours, they finished. They had decorated the Grand Hall - which was on the second floor and was easily three or four times the size of Hogwart's Great Hall - with sparkling lights and candles. They also put up a spell so that if anyone looked up at the lights, it would seem like glitter was floating around the lights. They also decorated all of the hallways, bathrooms, guestrooms, and dining rooms (After all, they had more than one of each room).  
  
Once they were done and totally exhausted, the house-elves brought them sandwiches and pumpkin juice which they gobbled up quite quickly (though the sandwiches kept refilling themselves). That's when Harry picked up that day's Daily Prophet - the one he hadn't gotten a chance to look at yet - and read the main article. It read:  
  
Minister Ousted From Office!  
  
Cornelius Fudge was ousted from his position yesterday when anonymous information showed that Mr. Fudge was covering up facts about You-Know-Who and His followers.  
  
The Wizengamont ruled that Fudge was incompetent and that the wizarding world would need a stronger leader in this rough time against He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.  
  
Under normal circumstances, the Undersecretary to the Minister should rightfully take up the position of Minister; but as Percival Weasly, current Undersecretary to Cornelius Fudge, also was proven to be as incompetent as Fudge, the position is up for re-election. The dates are to be announced as soon as the Wizengamont makes a decision.  
  
No one knows who will be running in this race. Albus Dumbledore has already made it clear that he will not be running for Minister. Some nominations have been Amelia Bones, Lucius Malfoy (who was freed from jail after being pardoned by Minister Fudge just before the Minister was kicked out of office), Arthur Weasley, Chester Neigenti, and Harry Potter (who has publicly claimed that he was just taking a vacation; story on following page).  
  
This reporter will keep looking for answers as long as there are some.  
  
-Rita Skeeter.  
  
Harry showed the article to Ginny and they both had to say that they were surprised to see that Harry was nominated to be the Minister of the English Ministry. They were also happy that Mr. Weasley was nominated for becoming Minister; after all, who deserved the position, fame, and money more than the Weasleys.  
  
After more discussion and planning, Harry and Ginny fell asleep in each others arms on the sofa in front of the main fireplace in the biggest living room. 


	9. Centaurs

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
A.N.:  
  
Dear Readers,  
  
Sorry about not updating in so long. I had the Windows Server 2003 operating system on my computer and it sucks. I couldn't change it back to XP without reformatting my hard-drive and I ended up messing up my computer quite a bit. But now it's back to normal.  
  
-PotterPower.  
  
David305: Sorry about the Holy Grail year thing. I didn't really research much on the dates before putting them up, but the dates aren't what's important. The important stuff is just the actions of Merlin, etc. Also, Merlin and King Arthur aren't related. Morgana is King Arthur's half- sister. And, I fixed the diary entry date if it makes you happier. You'll find out more about Ron and Hermione's "betrayal" soon enough. Patience, my young padawan.  
  
Sharker11: I'll try my best.  
  
SayianSeker88: Thanks. I'm glad you like it so much. I have every intention of finishing it. And, I fixed Lily's age.  
  
wadeki: I'm trying my best to go faster.  
  
hedow15: Thanks.  
  
theauthorthatwrites: Like I said before, I have every intention of finishing it. Just a matter of time, that's all. I'm glad you like the story.  
  
Angelis1: I'm glad that someone sees it my way. I'm happy to accept suggestions, but when people tell me to write the story a certain way, it pisses me off.  
  
Literature-archer: The reason I'm going so fast is because I have a lot to write. At the speed I'm going right now, the story looks like it'll be around thirty-five chapters. If I slow down any more, no one will want to read a story that long.  
  
fiddy: server problems, or maybe it's my computer.  
  
Muhahahaha: I'm not starting over again. Just server problems.  
  
FroBoy: You'll see. Patience, my young padawan.  
  
Sharpuu: Thanks for the support.  
  
David M. Potter: Thanks. Glad you like it.  
  
Jerry Merlin Potter: I'm trying!  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Green-eyes were opened to a sight that made the associated person's heart leap with joy. Harry Potter was awoken by a ticklish sensation caused by none other than the sleeping Ginny Weasley's breathing on his neck. He shifted slightly so that the tickling was bearable - he didn't want to burst out laughing and startle Ginny out of oblivion - and so that he could get a better hold on the beautiful form lying next to him.  
  
'How lucky could you get?' thought Harry sleepily. But he was startled out of his reverie by the sudden appearance of a young, male house-elf who was carrying a platter full of breakfast items such as cereals, milk, juices, toast, grits, oats, fruits, waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, and many other foods that Harry hadn't even seen before.  
  
He signaled for the house-elf to be quiet so as not to wake his sleeping beauty and the house-elf nodded in understanding. He placed the food on the tea-table and left with a silent "pop."  
  
Harry, without leaving his position, grabbed a piece of toast and bacon, spread butter on the toast, and began to eat with his hand still securely wrapped around Ginny's thin waist. After he finished eating and almost started to drift back to sleep, he felt a slight wiggling in his arms and felt Ginny's arms wrapping themselves even more closely around his neck. He looked down and saw Ginny looking up at him with a slightly dazed but happy look that he was glad to see.  
  
"Morning, Gin," Harry said as he gave her a short kiss on the lips. As he was about to pull away, she pulled his lips back to hers and began kissing him furiously. 'Hmmm . . . she's obviously feeling very lustful right now,' Harry thought as he kissed her back with every ounce of energy he had.  
  
As she started tickling him at the nape of his neck while playing with his hair, he started to slide his hand under her shirt. At first, he just grabbed her at the waist, but soon, she pulled him on top of her and he began to push his hand a higher and higher.  
  
She squirmed under him as she felt his arousal, but she refused to stop kissing him; on the contrary she began to pull harder and let her hands roam more freely. She moved her hands down his back and just into the edge of his pants. She tickled him lightly and rubbed against him with her hips as she felt his erection get harder. 'God, this is fun,' Ginny thought, 'Harry's hardly ever out of control. I can't believe I have so much power over him.' Of course, this thought was before she jerked her entire body forward because of the feeling she was getting from Harry's hands rubbing against her in ways that she hadn't expected.  
  
Within a few seconds (though it seemed like minutes to Harry and Ginny), Harry had his hands all the way up from her love handles to right below her breasts. He began to just rub them lightly and waited for her reaction. However, her forward jerk was more than he had expected or than he could take so he also jerked forward, grabbed Ginny, and kissed her until her back was flat on the sofa again. He kissed her without thinking about air, water, food, or anything else. Once again, he began to rub under her blouse and enjoyed the sound of her low moaning.  
  
Ginny was trying her best not to show any weakness, but she couldn't stop the moans from escaping her throat as Harry tickled her in spots that only he was supposed to touch in such seductive ways and rubbed against her in her lower areas. She let her hands have free reign and began to rip open his shirt. The buttons seemed to just slip open by themselves. She was pulling them with enough force to rip them, but they were simply slipping off without the least bit of resistance. After she had him shirtless, she began with his pants, but felt him stiffen. "Harry, what's wrong?" she asked in a weak voice.  
  
"Well . . . it's just . . . maybe we shouldn't go so fast," Harry rambled.  
  
Ginny suddenly felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and looked at Harry again. When she saw his face, she knew that he was right. She knew that the only reason he said that was because he loved her. For the first time since the beginning of the summer, Ginny was able to see through his expressionless mask. 'His eyes,' Ginny though, 'that's the secret passage to Harry's soul.' Indeed they were, but probably no one could see it but her, and in that moment, a bond was built. Neither of them felt it, but another entity was created between them. It was like an umbilical cord from the mother to the baby: half of the cord was from one person while the other half was from the other. And neither of them could now live without the other.  
  
Ginny nodded lightly and gave a soft smile: she understood. She understood why he stopped her and Harry knew that she understood without her saying that she did. The bond was just that strong. They knew what the other was feeling. If anyone would have known the existence of such bonds, they would have known that there were very few such bonds in the history of mankind: one of which was shared by Harry's parents.  
  
With that, Harry kissed her tenderly, told her to get ready and that he had some errands to run, slipped his shirt back on, and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. After getting ready and wearing a pair of dull- black work-robes, Harry stepped out of the house and apparated right through Hogwarts' anti-apparation wards in front of Hagrid's hut. He walked towards the Forbidden Forest, made sure that no one was watching him, and stepped inside. 'I hope this goes well,' Harry thought before readying himself for the long walk ahead.  
  
After walking for around half-an-hour, he remembered that he was a multi-magus and transformed into a griffin. With his powerful strides, Harry reached his destination in less than an hour - a trip that would have surely taken him more than half-a-day walking.  
  
When he looked to the top of the cave, he saw words inscribed into the slab of rock in a language never known to any human since the break-up of wizards and muggles. But Harry knew exactly what the words said, for they had not changed since the last time Merlin had come. The words said - roughly translated, of course - "The Great Race of Centaurs will never end. We live and die by Honor." Harry scoffed as he thought, 'Hmph! Honor my ass!'  
  
He stepped into the cave and immediately his surroundings changed. Instead of the dank, murky surroundings that he saw from the outside, once he stepped inside, they became beautifully decorated with gold lining and the floors became clean and clear slabs of marble. 'How pretty,' Harry thought indifferently and with a slight note of sarcasm, 'Leave it to Centaurs to flaunt everything they've got.'  
  
With that thought, Harry strode purposefully down the main corridor to the meeting room where the centaurs should be having their monthly meeting with Lord Feorn. Lord Feorn was the King of the Centaurs - the oldest, wisest, and most powerful of them all. He was over two-hundred thousand years old - the average age for the Kings of Centaurs was around five-hundred thousand years old - and was more than two times larger than even the largest of the warriors. He had the typical body of the centaur but was bald and had a long, grey beard that was wrapped around his waist. At least that was what Harry remembered of him from Merlin's memories.  
  
Harry approached the gigantic doors, pushed them open, and strode straight into a circle of centaurs holding spears aimed straight at him. He didn't even flinch as the gruff voice of Bane said, "Human! We told you never to enter this forest again. You were just nearly an adult last time we met, and now you have grown into a man. Your punishment for invading our home is death!" And with that, Bane thrust his spear straight at Harry's heart. Everyone was absolutely certain that the spear would kill Harry until it stopped in mid-air only half-a-centimeter in front of Harry's chest. Then, it fell to the ground and became nothing but sawdust.  
  
Harry looked at his handiwork and thought, 'Not bad. I can slash my sword so fast that even a centaur's sharp eyesight can catch it. Excellent.' Then, in a deep demanding voice, Harry said as he faced the humongous form of Lord Feorn, "I have a proposition for you and your clan . . ."  
  
But before he could finish, Lord Feorn boomed, "What interest could we have in a proposition given by YOU? We pride ourselves in separating ourselves with you lower species. We have more pride and honor than all other creatures on this planet. What makes you think we would want to even listen to your proposition?"  
  
"Perhaps if you listened, you would know," Harry said a little impatiently, "Like I said, I have a proposition. Lord Voldemort (Harry was surprised to note that even a few centaurs shuddered at the name) has started his second reign of darkness. We, alone, may not be powerful enough to stop him. For this, I ask the help of some of your warriors."  
  
"Ha!" bellowed Lord Feorn, "We have no connection to this world. We know of Lord Voldemort and he is of no consequence to us. We do not care for this world . . ."  
  
But Lord Feorn was cut off by a powerful force from the blazing green fire that seemed to be enveloping Harry. Then, in an even deeper voice, Harry said, "How dare you say you live by honor! You are nothing but a filthy, dirty piece of good-for-nothing trash. You and all of your egotistical centaurs. You think of yourselves as above the rest of the world and the other creatures? At least other creatures understand the importance of working together. And what's this about you not being part of this world? Where the hell do you think you are living in, then? And do you not think that if Voldemort wins his battle against us, that he will surely win against you? You aren't powerful enough to stop a million- wizard army. Filthy maggot! You are nothing but riding-horses with pride. Pride that is unsupported and undeserved. Pride that is not yours to have. Tell me, what have you done to claim yourselves as the greatest beings on this planet? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And the thought that my ancestor, Merlin, ever helped you sickens me."  
  
At this last statement, Lord Feorn's face changed from one of anger and resentment to one of absolute surprise and fear. He stuttered, "You . . . you . . . you're the descend . . . descendent of Merlin? No . . . no, you can't . . . you can't be."  
  
"Well, I am," said Harry coolly while exhibiting more of his power by making the lighter objects in the room float by themselves.  
  
"Forgive me. Please, forgive me, heir of Merlin!" Lord Feorn said as he bowed low to the ground almost making his nose scrape the ground, "I promised Merlin that for his help, I would treat all of his descendents with deep respect. Please, forgive me . . ."  
  
Harry gave a false sense of security by looking thoughtful but decided to show the centaurs not to be so cocky and said simply, "No, I don't forgive you." Right away, Lord Feorn's face fell and his expression changed into one of fear. 'So, he knows that I'm powerful,' thought Harry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bane step forward and so he turned his attention to the warrior.  
  
Bane walked up to Harry and Lord Feorn and said, "Lord, don't ask for forgiveness from a filthy human." And then he turned to Harry and said, "We will have an honorable battle to the death. Only the one pure of heart can win. Choose a weapon, boy!"  
  
Lord Feorn took this time to gather himself and scolded Bane by saying, "Bane! Don't you understand? He is the heir of Merlin! The most powerful wizard to ever walk the earth. He is the one that has the power to stop evil from shadowing the earth ever again!"  
  
"Yes," Bane said looking smug, "a powerful wizard he may be, but a dirty human can never be as powerful as a centaur, which is the greater race. With that, Bane pulled out a double-sided battle-axe and got into fighting stance. Harry pulled out his beautiful, gleaming sword from his sheath and stood in a typical dueling stance. "Enjoy your last moments of life boy," Bane said before lunging a Harry.  
  
'Is he serious,' Harry thought, 'He's terrible. I can kill him so easily. Look how wide his swings are.' Harry blocked Bane's lunge by simply twisting the axe around the blade and flicking his wrist to make the point of the blade go straight through Bane's shoulder.  
  
Normally, a sword wouldn't be able to go through a centaur's skin so easily, but Harry's sword was so sharp that it cut through Bane like a knife cut through butter. With another twist of his wrist, Harry jerked the sword downward through Bane's upper torso. Then, Harry removed his sword to let Bane swagger a bit. Everything Harry had done, he had done so fast that none of the other centaurs could see anything except for blood pouring out of Bane. Then, Harry put Bane out of his misery by slicing his head off.  
  
This was the first time Harry had ever had to kill anything or anyone with his bare hands and he was surprised that he didn't feel a little worse about it right away, but in the centaur culture, being spared in a battle to the death was a bigger insult than being killed. No matter how much Harry hated the centaurs for being so egotistical, he was still too soft- hearted to let Bane live a life of suffering and sorrow, so he had to kill him.  
  
After the deed was done, every centaur started to back away from Harry as he stared each one of them down. Then he began a speech shouting at the top of his lungs, "Have you learned your lesson?! Have you? God damn it! I asked if you learned your lesson?" After getting no response but fearful looks, Harry continued in a slightly softer voice, "Today you lost a brother. That was only because if I spared him his life would be hell. I've already live life in hell and I wouldn't inflict that on even you. If you don't join us today, Voldemort will kill you later anyway. Instead, if you join us and get rid of your annoying egos, we will have a better chance of winning together."  
  
Lord Feorn raised his head after giving a second of mourning for one of his lost subjects and said, "We pledge our allegiance to the side of the light. Indeed I should have listened more closely to the warnings given to me by your predecessors, but today I heed those same warnings by you. You are something special, my boy, and if you were to lead, I would risk my life and my brother's lives for your purpose."  
  
At this, Harry smiled and said, "I'm glad that we have your support. Train for battle and be ready to arrive when I call. You shall know when I send my message as they will all have the Potter Crest burned into them. I must go now." With that, Harry returned to his home at a very late hour.  
  
As he entered, he was tackled by Ginny who started kissing him everywhere that she could get a hold of. After about fifteen minutes of this, she got up and informed Harry that her mother wanted her to come back to the Burrow because she had to go to Harry's sixteenth "coming-out" birthday party (which happened to be the main topic in "Witch Weekly" for the last few days). With a few more kisses and a promise that she would see him in two days, Ginny walked out of the house, out to the front gate (which was nearly an acre away) and wandlessly apparated to the Burrow.  
  
After going back inside and eating a bit of dinner provided by a kind, young, female house elf that seemed to have taken a liking to him, he went up to the main bedroom of the mansion and turned out the lights. After practicing his routine nightly Occlumency, changing into his night- clothes, and laying down in bed; he dropped his facial mask and started to cry. He had taken a life today. That too, the life of a potential ally. True, he didn't want to disgrace Bane, but did he do the right thing? Worse was that Ginny wasn't there to console him. But, he had a slight consolation at the thought that he felt that Merlin would have done the same. Finally, he ended up crying himself to sleep, not really ready for the road ahead of him but forced to take it anyway either due to the lack of capacity of his elders or just his own damn bad luck. 


	10. Party

Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real people or places is purely coincidental.  
  
A.N.:  
  
Dear Readers  
  
I blame the delay on exams and vacation. Forgive me if you have it in your hearts to do so.  
  
-PotterPower.  
  
Sharker11: Glad you like it.  
  
David M. Potter: Thanks for the praise.  
  
fiddy: no problem.  
  
FroBoy: Exams are getting in the way of updating quickly . . . sorry about that.  
  
Mikito: Glad you like it.  
  
JamesTag: I'll try.  
  
ocpawnmaster1: I'm glad you find the story very original. I'll try to keep it that way.  
  
Shadow Wolf0987: I try.  
  
zedd2: I'm guessing that means you like it? Thanks anyway.  
  
HarryReader: Of course Harry's not going to kill Dumbledore. What kind of an evil, demented person do you think I am? Just kidding.  
  
MIRLIN THE MAGE: I'll try.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Harry was awoken the next morning by Ginger, the young female house elf who had taken a liking to him. She reminded him that his "coming out" party was today and that he ought to get ready before evening. She informed him that she was going to Diagon Alley to get some necessary last- minute supplies for the party and was about the teleport away when Harry stopped her and said, "Ginger, why don't you give me the list of stuff to buy. I need to get out a little anyway. I haven't taken much time to myself lately, so maybe this will be a good opportunity to do so."  
  
With that, Ginger wrote Harry up a list of necessary materials, gave a low bow, and teleported away. After she left, Harry got up and went through his daily workout routines. He practiced some more elemental magic and some other magics that he had been studying since the beginning of the summer.  
  
After he was done with his closing meditation, he took a shower, dressed, and got ready to apparate to Diagon Alley (something he just recently learned to do). As he was the owner of Potter Mansion and the creator of the wards, he was easily able to bend the wards to allow himself to apparate in and out. With a light "pop," he was gone.  
  
Harry went around Diagon Alley collecting all of the items and even had to go to Knockturn Alley in order to get some of the items. He was looking to see if the Weasleys were there but sensed in his mind that they weren't currently nearby. After a few more hours spent in the huge expanse of Diagon Alley, Harry noticed that a line seemed to be building in front of the Flourish & Blotts bookstore.  
  
'Maybe I should go check this out,' Harry thought already having a slight inkling of what this was about from looking into his so-called friends' minds. He slipped into the store, up to the second floor landing, and stood on the empty balcony that looked down onto the main first floor area where Harry first met Gilderoy Lockhart in his second year.  
  
He could see that some of the people in line were getting restless as they started pushing and shoving to get a view of what was in front, though there wasn't really a view to see. There were a few reporters from "the Daily Prophet" and other newspaper and magazine publishing companies such as "Witch Weekly," that were trying to push themselves to the front.  
  
After a few minutes of the same shoving and pushing, there was a slight outcry of surprise from the side where a door had opened and Mr. Flourish and Mr. Blotts (both descendents of the original owners) came out with a familiar bushy-haired, wide-smiling Hermione Granger as well as a slightly-red-in-the-face, superior-looking Ronald Weasley. Once the passageway was clear again, the proud-looking parents of Hermione Granger and all of the Weasleys (except for Percy), and even Ginny came through.  
  
Ginny, automatically sensing that Harry was there through their bond, looked up, gave him a sweet smile, winked, and got back to looking as if she hadn't done a thing.  
  
To Harry's only slight surprise - though, once again, he didn't show it - Hermione and Ron sat at the main table and reporters began to ask them questions. By listening to the conversation, Harry found that it was exactly as he suspected. It seemed that Hermione had written an article worthy of attention by the press and the people, it seemed. She had written an article about how Arthur Weasley would be the best candidate for the new Minister of Magic.  
  
It seemed that the entire Order of the Phoenix had a "foolproof" plan to get Mr. Weasley elected. After a little hustle and bustle, the reporters began to interview Arthur Weasley and asked him about his stands and viewpoints. They asked him what he was going to do about the He-who- must-not-be-named problem and what he was going to do for the safety of the wizarding world. All of his answers, Harry could tell, were pre-made by Albus Dumbledore.  
  
After a little more questioning, the press turned their questions to Hermione.  
  
"So," asked a little witch who had started competing with Rita Skeeter for the record for most fabricated stories, "is your boyfriend, Harry Potter, angry with you for siding with Mr. Weasley rather than siding with him in this race for the position of Minister of Magic, Ms. Granger?"  
  
"Well, first of all," Hermione said in an important-sounding voice, "Harry is not my boyfriend, Ronald Weasley is. Second, Harry won't even be running in this race. That would be ridiculous, he's just a kid." Ginny gave Harry a worried glance. He just gave her a crooked smirk.  
  
After this, the media went into a frenzy and one elderly-man asked, "Does Mr. Potter know of your relationship? And also, have you heard directly from him that he will not be taking place in this race?"  
  
"Well . . . yes, Harry does know of our relationship. Why wouldn't he? He is our best friend after all . . ." she said a little hesitantly. "And no, I haven't heard from him directly that he won't be participating in this race, but I have talked to Professor Dumbledore personally and we both see eye-to-eye that we cannot allow Harry to run in this race. Once again, he is just a child," Hermione finished confidently.  
  
'Hmmm . . .' Harry thought, 'last year, I would have been soooo pissed at her for saying something like that.' With that thought, he spoke up in a very loud voice, "Actually, I will be running in this election."  
  
At the sound of his voice, everyone - with the exception of Ron and Hermione - turned to see the face of possibly the most handsome man ever. Hermione and Ron, however, turned slowly with looks of utter fear on their faces. Harry simply looked at everyone with a simple smile on his face, though Ginny could feel the scorn and contempt he was hiding from everyone else through their link.  
  
She tried her best to comfort him and say that everything would be okay and she felt him relax and give her a real smile. She smiled back and reminded him through the connection that he was being watched.  
  
He turned back to the press and said simply, "I will be running in this election. If you wish to learn my views or the actions that I will take as minister, simply come to my presentation on August 31st and you will hear all of my plans in my speech. Questions will be answered there and rumors will be put to rest." Once he said this, he waved and did something that no wizard his age had ever done: he wandlessly teleported (not apparated) back to Potter Mansion. Teleportation was different from apparition because teleportation required the wizard or witch to create a rip in the time/space continuum and travel through it by turning their body into an element (this part can only be done by certain elementals) and transferring that element to the final destination. The youngest person to be able to do this before Harry was a forty-seven-year-old man in the thirteenth century.  
  
Once he was back, he gave the supplies to Ginger and began to get ready for his party. After nearly five hours, the party was due to begin. He whispered a few directions on how to greet the guests and to lead them to the Grand Hall to the house-elf who stood at the door. Then, he went and sat on the throne-seat in the Potter Mansion's Grand Hall. The decorations were all gold and red and matched the furniture and walls in the room. The furniture had red coushins with gold bordering on it. There were nine-hundred or so round tables (that's just how big the hall was), each able to seat ten people around it. And on the platform, where the staff table was located in the Hogwart's Great Hall, Harry sat proudly on his throne next to the empty, slightly-smaller throne he was saving for Ginny.  
  
After nearly thirty minutes of waiting, the first guests started to appear. The house-elf near the door was escorting them in one by one as they walked into the Hall with expressions of awe all over their faces. Once a few of the women looked at him, they just kept staring at him as if thinking 'Is this really THE Harry Potter? I remember him as a scrawny little weak kid, not a sexy, muscular hunk!' while many men glared at him in jealousy. Harry gave a winning grin to all of the ladies that stared at him and glared down the jealous men who thought they were envious of his life. 'If only they knew,' Harry thought.  
  
After a few thousand people were seated and all of the important people had arrived (including the Weasleys, the Grangers, Dumbledore, the Hogwarts staff, many Death Eaters, etc.), Harry got up and tapped his glass lightly in order to catch their attention.  
  
Then, Harry spoke in a loud, confident voice, "I'm glad that most of you could make it today. I am also glad to announce that today is my 'coming-out' party. Now, without much further ado, let the party begin." And that is exactly what happened. Appetizers and drinks appeared from nearly every table, music started playing, and people started to chatter again.  
  
Slowly, after dinner was over and Harry had cut the cake, young women around Harry's age from all across the world came to see him. Some were shy and blushed like lunatics when he greeted them, others were brave and tried to illicit a sexual response from him, while still others were trying to flirt with him in front of everyone else. One girl was even brave enough to try to lead him away from the hall into a nearby bedroom. Though he had to pry this girl off of his hand, Harry always tried to play along and pretend to enjoy their company. He was constantly entertaining a circle of at least twenty girls.  
  
After a few dances with many random girls who wanted to win his heart, it was nearly time for him to announce which girl he would be going out with or whether or not there was going to be a girl that he would be going out with. This part of the "coming-out" party was purely custom as people in the past used to marry at very young ages. Once the room was quiet again, he looked over at Ginny, winked, and smiled softly as he saw her blush. 'She may be my girlfriend,' Harry mused proudly, 'but I can still make her blush like mad!'  
  
"Once again," Harry said in a deep commanding voice, "thank you all for being here on this festive occasion and thank you, young ladies, for giving me the opportunity to get to know you all better . . ."  
  
At this, Ginger popped in and interrupted by saying, "However, my master, Mr. Potter, is already taken by a lovely young lady."  
  
After there were a few gasps of outrage and anger, Ginger ducked her head and began to apologize to Harry about butting in, but Harry simply smirked and whispered, "Thanks. I didn't really want to disappoint them." Ginger looked up happily and popped away; after all, she really liked Ms. Weasley. Their nicknames were even the same: Gin.  
  
After some of the protests died down, Harry cleared his throat and said while daring a glance at Ginny who was giggling like a bloody maniac, "Forgive Ginger, she has a habit of sticking up for those she likes . . ."  
  
He was once again interrupted by an incredibly sexy-looking, twenty- year-old, brown-haired witch who said in a seemingly bitter voice, "So, who is this 'lovely young lady,' Mr. Potter?"  
  
"Well, she knows who she is," Harry said, leaving the crowd more pissed than before.  
  
Then, out of the crowd, a tall, balding man that Harry knew to be a rich, second-degree Death Eater stood up and said, "So, Mr. Potter, you invite us to your home, ask us to celebrate with you, dance with our daughters, and then expect us to leave without you telling us who 'you' believe is better than 'my' daughter? I think not."  
  
Harry sighed. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'might as well get it over with now. I've already given Ginny her powers and trained her. She can take care of herself.' Harry nodded towards the ceiling and slow, sweet music started playing. He got up and walked over to the Weasley's table, where, to his surprise, Hermione smiled sweetly and started to get up. That is until he walked right past her and gave his hand to Ginny. 'I can't believe Hermione could say she's going out with Ron and then expect me to ask her to dance,' Harry thought, 'What a conceited . . . Well, I guess I shouldn't think that of a "friend".'  
  
In a soft voice that rang through the hall because of the silence, Harry said, "May I have this dance, Gin?"  
  
"Absolutely," Ginny said while using his outstretched hand to pull herself up. She looked absolutely stunning. Her dress was the colored exactly opposite to Harry's in every way but it complimented it all the same. Once they started dancing, his black clashed with her cream but, nonetheless, they seemed to fuse into one another. Ginny's emerald earrings and necklace set brought out the greenish tinge in Harry's cloak and in his eyes while Harry's dark clothes brought out the dark chocolate in Ginny's eyes.  
  
The song went on for a good eight to ten minutes and Harry and Ginny didn't look anywhere else except for at themselves. Ron, along with the rest of the crowd, seemed to be able to look at nothing but the couple. Mr. & Mrs. Weasley looked incredibly happy; Ron's face became more and more red by the second; Hermione looked really peeved and confused at the same time ('Bet that's the first time she's been confused,' Harry thought); Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie looked, surprisingly, proud; and, of course, most others looked on in outrage, disgust, or disbelief (though most of the guys looked even more jealously at Harry).  
  
When the song was over, Harry led Ginny up to the two throne-like chairs and helped her into the "Queen" chair, as he had dubbed it. He stood in front of the crowd again and said with a light sigh, "Now . . . Thank you for coming and celebrating with me. I will be running for Minister of Magic and I will be holding an information session on the thirty-first of this month: that is in just a few days time. I am open to a debate with any opponents. Hopefully, I will be able to convey my message properly then.  
  
After that, Harry sat back on his throne and music began once more. Slowly, people started to dance and after a few hours, the hall began to empty. Every once in a while, a few of the citizens under the British Ministry came and either thanked him for his efforts against Voldemort or asked for his autograph.  
  
Lucius came up (with Draco alongside him) and sneered at Harry. "Look, Potter's had a growth spurt," Lucius said in a very sarcastic voice, "about time too, you little runt. What, you think this big castle and a big party is going to stop my master from killing you? Ha! You're still the same weakling that fell for the Dark Lord's plan last year."  
  
'Ooooh . . . Low blow,' Harry thought, 'He just had to bring up Sirius. Oh well, I'll deal with him later.' Harry simply smiled and said, "Nice to see you too, Malfoy, however, you are over-staying your welcome. Excuse me if I don't want scum in my house for too long. I just invited you to see how you were doing and so that you can go tell your 'Lord' that I won't sit around anymore."  
  
"Yes, Potter," Lucius said with his trademark sneer, "He'll be very scared of that."  
  
"Good," Harry said being completely serious, "Now, leave." With that, the Malfoy's left.  
  
After some more time, the only people in the hall were Harry, Ginny, the Weasleys, the Order members (including Remus and Tonks), Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Professors, and the Grangers (whom he'd invited because he actually liked them). Harry clicked his fingers and hundreds of tables disappeared leaving only the two throne chairs and a few tables for the remaining people. Then, the walls closed in so that the hall became a decent sized room.  
  
After everyone was re-seated, he sat on the throne, gave Ginny a peck on the mouth, turned back to the waiting (some fuming) remainder of the party, and said, "I suppose you all stayed for a reason."  
  
"Actually, yes, Harry," Albus Dumbledore said with a light smile playing on his lips, "First of all, I wanted to say 'Happy Birthday' personally. Second, I'm going to have to cancel your decision to run for Minister of Magic as . . ."  
  
"However, you don't have the right," Harry cut in, "I am an orphan who has reached the age of sixteen. At the age of sixteen, an orphan is considered an adult. You, Professor, are just a tad late to stop me." Dumbledore was simply gaping now. 'Another first,' Harry thought.  
  
"On the contrary," Harry said, "I would like to make some demands." At this, he looked over to Mr. Weasley and said, "I would like you to drop your position in this race and to convince Mrs. Bones to also drop her position. I understand that you may be interested in becoming Minister; however, we must look at what's best for the world right now. If you want, I'll step down after Voldemort's defeat and you can then run."  
  
Arthur opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Ron who stomped up in front of Harry and said, "So, Potter, decided to play hero, huh? Look what it did for Sirius. You just want all of the fame and money, don't you? I can't believe I was your friend. My dad will never drop from the race because he deserves it and he's a better leader than you. I can't believe the Order protects you from Voldemort. What can you do anyway? You're just one person and you're just a kid . . ."  
  
Ron, however, was quieted when he saw a thin blade across his neck. "You're digging yourself deeper and deeper," Ginny said as she pressed the blunt end of her sword into her brother's neck and pushed slightly to make him fall off the platform. Ron looked absolutely stunned and incensed that his little sister had gotten the better of him.  
  
Harry got up and said, "Funny that you should find it right to pick on me. I'm not the one who lied to his friend by joining the Order and not telling him. I'm not the one who lied about going out with my other best friend. I'm not the one who was an unfaithful friend. I'm not the one who is the kid! Never call me a kid again!" Now Harry was just screaming. "I've never had a childhood, you stupid jealous asshole! Therefore, I can't be a kid! Dumbledore's made sure of that! On the contrary, I can't believe I ever called you 'my' friend. Now, 'you' can get out of my house!"  
  
"Look Harry," Dumbledore said, "the only reason Ron joined the Order was because I asked him to in order to keep an eye on you. You know how trouble seems to find you."  
  
"Don't you mean, 'how you go looking for trouble,'" Harry said sarcastically, "look, Dumbledore, I put partial blame on you for everything bad that has happened in my life." As Harry said this, he saw his old Professor looking more and more weary by the moment. "However, I can forgive you. In your old age, it seems you've totally forgotten what childhood means. What did Ron or Hermione do to deserve positions in the Order? Did they do more than I did?"  
  
"Did they defeat Voldemort without even trying at the age of one? Did they face Voldemort and defeat him when they were eleven? Did they save Ginny Weasley from Voldemort when they were only twelve? Did they kill a Basilisk with nothing more than a sword and a Phoenix? Did they learn how to summon a full Patronus at the age of thirteen? Did they duel face-to- face with Voldemort when they were only fourteen? Did they lose everyone that they ever loved or that ever loved them violently?"  
  
"Tell me. Tell me one thing that they did more than me to deserve joining the Order. Tell me!"  
  
Dumbledore just stared at him with a sullen expression. He couldn't say anything. He had nothing to say that wouldn't anger Harry farther. Hermione was silently crying. Ron was still angry as hell.  
  
"Rest old man," Harry said soothingly startling everyone. "You grow wearier by the day and your beard doesn't seem to grow any longer," Harry said trying to add light humor to his wrinkled face. "Your judgement isn't as it once was. You are still strong, yes, but the time has come for a new generation. Let me carry your burden," Harry said in an even more soothing voice. "Rid yourself of it. Go and watch over the beloved students of Hogwarts. They need you. Allow me to rid the world of evil. Allow me to carry the weight of the world."  
  
"But Harry," Dumbledore asked in a weak voice that no one had ever heard come from him, "you are still young. I don't want to burden you . . ."  
  
"It's too late," Harry said in such an old voice that it seemed to everyone that Harry was the Professor and Dumbledore was the pupil. Dumbledore looked up with a wide smile that made him look a hundred years younger, ran up the four or five steps, and hugged Harry tightly. Everyone (with the exception of Ginny, who was smiling) gaped at the back of Albus Dumbledore.  
  
After releasing Dumbledore from the hug, Harry turned back to Mr. Weasley and said, "Well, we are stronger united than divided. What is your decision? Will you quit and support me? Or will you continue being the Order's puppet?"  
  
Arthur at once looked very happy and said, "Truth be told, Harry, I didn't want to run. I like my job as head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. I only agreed to run because there wasn't another stronger political figure in the Order. I'd be glad to step down and support you. And I'd be glad to try to talk Mrs. Bones into doing the same."  
  
Harry smiled. Ron gaped and said, "But, Dad . . .!"  
  
"No 'But's' Ron. I'm doing what's best for everyone," Mr. Weasley said. Ron looked like he was about to explode.  
  
"Harry," Dumbledore said getting everyone's attention, "there will be a special Order meeting tomorrow. Hopefully, you will be able to attend, along with Ms. Weasley and her twin brothers."  
  
"Sure," Harry said grimacing. 'He's going to ask us to join the Order now, after all of this,' Harry thought. "If that's all, then I bid you all a good night."  
  
Everyone started to leave except for Ginny until Mrs. Weasley said, "Ginny dear, aren't you coming?"  
  
"No, mum," Ginny answered confidently, "I'm staying with Harry tonight." Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to faint but didn't say anything. She just gave Ginny a significant look and flooed away after everyone else.  
  
"Ahhh . . . Mrs. Potter, we have the house to ourselves," Harry said. Ginny blushed and Harry asked "What, you're still blushing about being with me?"  
  
"No, silly," Ginny said, "you called me 'Mrs. Potter.'" At this, Harry let down all of his facial masks and began to blush madly to. That was until he grabbed Ginny by the waist and started to tickle her relentlessly.  
  
He carried her wriggling form up to the master bedroom and threw her onto the bed. They both began to kiss, almost hungrily, and started to rip each others clothes off.  
  
After nearly tearing through every layer of cloth the other was wearing (except for undergarments) Harry began to rub his hands up and down her body making her moan when he touched a really sensitive spot on her body.  
  
Ginny, on the other hand, took another approach. Instead of groping all over his body, she started to massage his lower sections. She could feel him stiffen sometimes, but she kept going because she knew she couldn't stop now even if she wanted to.  
  
After a whole lot of experimenting and examining, they fell asleep entwined in the hands of the person they loved most. 


End file.
